The Arctic Swordsman - Sentinel of the Sky
by Marcus Cersy. AKA Ion Gree
Summary: The Black Swordsman was the Solo Player, walking the path of a lone warrior after being branded a beater. The Arctic Swordsman was the opposite, always helping others and sticking together in a team. What would happen when these two meet? Would the Arctic Swordsman help the Black Swordsman redeem himself? Or would they both fall to the will of the system?
1. Chapter 1: Link START!

_The game officially begins at one._ He thought to himself as he shot home on his bike. _I have two and a half hours to get home, check up on Emma, start the installation process and take my shift._

A young man shot down the street on a road bike, being cautious around traffic, but other than that, he had no intention of slowing down.

This young man was Marcus Cersy, a seventeen-year-old boy living in Shinjuku. He was wearing a white and blue helmet that covered his head, but there were traces of raven black hair underneath. His eyes, protected by some riding goggles he liked to wear, were an icy blue, and some of his friends often told him he had a piercing gaze if he stared too long.

He was wearing a white coat that he left unzipped, allowing it to blow along behind him, a black shirt underneath and black pants. He had on a pair of white fingerless gloves and black boots hammering against the pedals. On his back was an icy blue backpack, which looked a little square. _Of course it is, with the precious cargo it's carrying_.

Turning left, he swerved his bike around and up alongside a small corner shop. It was here he started to dismount, but pushed his bike around a bit further to a gate that led into a small yard behind the shop.

Pushing open the gate, he wheeled in his bike, and took it over to a small shed that he kept his bicycle in and out of the rain. As he did, a bark came from the back of the shop, and a small Alaskan Husky rushed out to greet him.

"Hey Sparkle," Marcus said, locking up the shed. He nodded in satisfaction and let the little animal jump up to give him some affectionate yips.

"Go on in," He told Sparkle, pushing her down. As he walked in through the back, he saw the most important person to him limp in on a pair of crutches.

"How'd it go?" she asked, pulling up a chair and backing down into it.

"About as you'd expect, but I got it," Marcus grinned, taking off his backpack and zipping it open to reveal packaging for what looked like a helmet. On the top of the box was the word Nervegear. Next to the box was a game case, which Marcus pulled out.

On the cover was a large, egg shaped, steel castle, with roots hanging out of the bottom like it had been pulled out the ground, at the base of the construct were six extrusions, that were speculated to house the power units to make the castle float in the first place. At the top of the box were three words.

Sword Art Online.

The single most anticipated game of the last two years had finally been released. It ran with the Nervegear, a piece of hardware that took the consciousness of a user and transmitted them into entire virtual worlds.

"You still intend to keep that promise you made right? About letting me use it now and then?" She asked.

"Emma, you're my sister, I'll let you use it whenever you want. I just get the first go," Marcus grinned. "Besides, I never make a girl a promise, if I know I can't keep it."

Emma carried the same hair colour as Marcus, her silky hair going down to just past her shoulders while his was short and tidily combed. Her eyes were a deep soft blue. She was wearing an ocean blue shirt that had open shoulders, a black pleated skirt and Pikachu slippers, which came with ears and tail.

"Emma, tell Takahiro-Sempai that I'll be able to take my two-hour shift once I've started the installing stuff," Marcus said, heading for the stairs and running up to their shared room.

He returned a moment later, wearing a blue apron over a white shirt and black pants. Passing the dining room, he went through to the shop.

Stood at the counter was a man who was just helping a customer, "Reporting for duty boss," He said.

"There you are, can you start by restocking the shelves by the door? Emma's cupcakes have been sold out again," He asked.

"You got it," Marcus nodded, and took a box over to the window shelf by the front.

Marcus and Emma lived for rent with a man called Warren Takahiro, who had been kind enough to allow them to stay with him, as long as they helped with the business, which turned out to be a bakery. Marcus helped Warren up front, while Emma, partially because of her legs, helped his wife Amy in the back, doing the baking part.

Emma's legs were hurt when the siblings were walking home from school, and Emma had been clipped by a car and she fell in a bad way, they weren't broken, but she had lost partial movement in them from the shock and nerve damage.

As Marcus was filling a shelf with bread, the door opened with a jingle, and a black-haired girl walked in, around his age. "Good day Suguha-san," He smiled.

"Oh hi Marcus-kun," The girl said, Marcus hid a raised eyebrow at the suffix used, but didn't question it.

Suguha was in his class for Physical Education at school, and they sometimes partnered up for events. Occasionally, their teacher treated them with a rare lesson of Kendo. Suguha aced this subject, due to her competitive skill in the sport, but the only person who could keep up with her was Marcus.

"Anything you want today?" Marcus asked, walking up to the counter.

"Just another box of your sister's cupcakes, those things are the best ever!" Suguha grinned.

"Ok, one box of Emma's Cakes," Marcus nodded, quickly nipping into the back and getting the purchase. "Anything else?" He asked.

Suguha went over to a small refrigerator in the corner, where cooled drinks were put on display for sale, she took out a bottle of water, and came back to pay.

"243 yen please," He said, after putting the commands in the cashier. Suguha handed him three hundred yen bills, and he gave her the necessary change.

"Thanks Marcus-Kun! See you in class," Suguha said, heading out the door.

Marcus shook his head, she needed to get rid of that crush. It wasn't that he didn't like Suguha, it was just that he didn't see her as anything more than a good friend.

Things continued slowly, Marcus stocked the shelves and helped Jun if things got busy.

Eventually, the two front-workers heard a beeping jingle coming from Marcus' pocket. "SAO has finished installing, and with thirty minutes left on my shift, nifty," He muttered, turning off the alarm.

"Go ahead, you can finish early today, you deserve it after the extra time you've put in to help around the shop," Warren smiled.

"Thanks a lot Takahiro-Sempai," Marcus bowed lightly, breaking into a grin.

"Just make sure not to be on it all night? You have the store in the morning," Warren reminded him.

"Sure, don't worry about me," Marcus nodded, and made a beeline for the stairs.

"Hey, Marcus!" He halted at the feminine call from the kitchen, he detoured to check in, Amy Takahiro gave him a warm grin, "because you might not come down before supper, at least take this up before you go," she held up a plate of sandwiches, two bags of chips and a coke and a soda.

"This isn't necessary Amy," Marcus smiled.

Amelia was about half a head taller than him, with rose-red hair underneath a hair-net and comforting hazel eyes, she was wearing a blue dress with a white apron over it.

"Rubbish, if the conversations that you have with Emma are enough to go by, you two are still big gamers, and from what I understand, they also forget to get food sometimes," Amy gave him a motherly look.

"Alright, thanks for the food," Marcus took the plate, and headed up the stairs.

* * *

The Takahiro Bakery was two floors, the bakery half was downstairs, and was divided into four rooms, the main store, the kitchens (with extra ovens for the produce), a dining room, and a sitting room. Upstairs were two bedrooms, one for the Takahiro's and one for the Cersy siblings, a bathroom in the middle, and an airing cupboard for clothes and laundry.

Marcus stepped into his and Emma's room, seeing his sister sat on her bed reading a book, "Ok, things are set up," She said, as he set down the plate on the bed, handing a bag of chips to her and the soda.

"The recording hardware wired up?" He asked. Emma nodded, cracking open her can and taking a sip.

"The Nervegear needs a calibration set up," She said, Marcus picked up the helmet, a gunmetal grey colour, with the logo on the forehead.

"Ok, this shouldn't take too long," He said.

Ten minutes later, he pulled off the helmet, "That took way longer than I thought," He muttered.

"You'd better put it back on," Emma nodded up to the clock. Marcus glanced at it. 12:59.

"Holy crap!" He lay down on the bed.

He took a deep breath, before smirking, seeing the Nervegear clock in the corner flick to say 13:00.

"Link… START!"

* * *

The next thing he knew, he was flying down a tunnel of colours, before he felt his feet land on a small platform, in a black room. In front of him stood a generic hero-like character.

"Welcome to Sword Art Online! Please create your avatar. To make changes, call out commands such as: 'Change hair colour to black', when finished, say: 'Finished Creation'," an automated female voice droned out.

Marcus changed his avatar to be a little more toned in muscle, a tiny bit shorter and his eye colour to a calming deep blue, unlike his ice blue. His starting armour consisted of a white short-sleeved shirt, black pants, black fingerless gloves and boots, and a light leather chestplate.

"Finished Creation," He stated clearly.

His avatar vanished, and a wheel of weapons surrounded him, ranging from one-handed swords to axes, hammers, curved blades, two-handed weapons like spears, battle-axes and greatswords. "Please select a starting weapon, this can be changed in game," the voice returned. One weapon caught his attention more than others, and he reached out to take a basic rapier.

"You have selected Rapier, is this ok?" the voice asked.

"It is," Marcus said firmly.

"Now select a name for your avatar, there are no duplicates," the voice instructed.

A keyboard appeared before Marcus, and he pondered about a name. Eventually, he got one, typing in three letters, Ion.

"Thank you, now, get out there and enjoy Sword Art Online!" The voice gave some enthusiasm, much to Marcus' surprise. The floor beneath him vanished, and he fell into the abyss.

* * *

When Ion felt his feet hit the ground again, he heard bustling numbers of voices, footsteps, the sounds varied, but he couldn't see. Then he realised his virtual eyes hadn't opened yet, and commanded them to do so.

He saw himself standing on the far side of a very large plaza, that almost looked like the interior of the coliseum of Rome, with what looked like the Washington Monument in the middle with a bell tower on the top.

Players filled the courtyard, some talking with others, some rushing out into the town, some just taking in the sights, Ion decided to hit the markets, deciding to go and stock up on potions and the normal starting necessities with what little money he had.

Taking his right hand, he chopped it down, opening his menu. On the left window, showed a basic outline of his avatar, underneath that was a list of his stats and some equipped passive skills.

On the right, it showed six tabs, skills, inventory, options, friends and map. Opening this, he saw that he was on the far eastern side of the plaza.

With no-one to wait for, he decided to get going.

* * *

Ion grunted as a blue boar knocked him over for the umpteenth time, "Ok… pig thing seven, me, one," he muttered. No joke, he had only gotten one hit in on the blue pig.

He was fighting a Frenzied Boar, and judging by the number of them that wandered throughout the plains of Floor One, it was a common mob.

"Ok… how did that video show it? The guy made it look so easy…!" He muttered. He heard a feminine grunt not far away, and stole a glance to see a girl with a spear also struggling with the fighting mechanics.

Turning tail, he decided to leave his boar alone, and decided to see about helping the girl out.

"Want some help?" He asked, observing from a distance.

"It would make things easier!" The girl nodded, rolling out of the way of the boar.

"What was it in that video that made it look so easy? I'm missing something… here," Ion muttered again, his eyes widened.

"If you have a way to get this thing off me, I'd appreciate it!" The girl grunted.

"Ok, then standby," Ion called. Gripping his rapier, he felt something, like a movement, deciding to follow the instinct, he felt his sword lighten, as well as hearing it hum.

"Take this!" He thrust forward, stabbing the pig and taking the aggro off the girl.

"Whoa! How'd you do that?!" The girl asked.

He felt himself freeze up as he finished the skill, "Just before you make the skill, you'll feel an initial movement, let it happen, before driving it home," Ion explained, feeling the freeze wear off.

"Initial movement?" The girl asked. She then tried something, holding her spear back. It seemed to start glowing green, just before the girl thrust it forward, stabbing the boar and finishing the mob off.

Both players had a window open, showing any experience points, col, which was the currency in the game, and a large gap that would house any items received from the fight, none of which had been awarded this time.

Ion sheathed his rapier at his waist, while the girl returned her spear to a sleeve on her back. "Ok, that was pretty awesome," she grinned.

"I agree," Ion nodded. "I'm Ion." He held out a hand to shake.

"Call me Angel," the girl smiled, taking the hand.

She was equipped in the same sort of gear as him, but she had chosen a purple sleeveless shirt and black pants, she wore a light leather breastplate over her clothes. She was also wearing black gloves and boots.

"Thanks for the assist," She said. "I had been sucking horribly against that thing for at least four minutes."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ion chuckled.

"Well, thanks for the help, but I think I'll head my own way for now," Angel shrugged.

"No problem, see you around maybe," Ion nodded.

With that, the two players parted ways.

* * *

Ion stood on a hill overlooking the plains. He had been continuing to level up his avatar, now at a reasonable level four. _This game is incredible,_ he thought to himself. _I could get used to this_.

He glanced up to the clock in the top right corner of his vision. _It's coming up to half five. I'd better log off to get down and help with dinner_. Ion opened his menu, going down to the options tab and heading to where he had seen in a video how to log out. But where he had seen the button in the video, there was just a blank button.

 _What? Could it be a bug? It makes some sense, but the devs should have fixed it by now,_ Ion thought with worry.

"Emma, if you're watching, do _not_ forcefully remove my Nervegear, not until the bug is fixed," He muttered quietly, knowing Emma might hear him speaking.

As he made a move to head back to the Town of Beginnings, he heard a loud bell ringing. The next thing he noticed was a blue veil of light swallow him up. When it faded, he was back in the plaza he had spawned in earlier.

All around him, players were chattering, more appearing every two seconds in a blue glow like him.

Ion's sharp hearing picked up the sound of a low drone, repeating. Looking up, he saw a blinking red panel, hovering high above the plaza. A single word was imprinted on it: 'WARNING'.

Red spread through the sky as the panel multiplied by the hundreds, eventually covering the plaza with the ominous colour.

Then, through the cracks between the hexagons above them, a substance that could only be described as blood oozed out, and started to form into something solid, and big.

That thing was a large hood, with long flowing sleeves tipped with white gloves. No legs formed underneath the thing, and no face emerged from the cowl to give any identity to it. Instead, only black-purple mist that seeped from where the head should have been, adding an extra layer of creepiness to the figure formed before them.

"Attention players," a rather monotonous voice emanated from the figure, it's arms raising out to the sides. "I welcome you to my world." His words- for Ion would know if that was a female voice- carried no emotion as he began his speech.

"My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment, I am in control of this world," He stated clearly.

Ion backed up a step, _this_ was the living legend behind Nervegear and Sword Art Online? He was known in both the gaming and the scientific worlds as an infamous genius. He wasn't giving a good opening impression if this was the opening ceremony.

"I am sure that many of you have noticed an item missing from your menus- the logout button," Kayaba said, opening a massive menu himself to demonstrate. "Let me assure you that this is not a defect."

Ion felt like his heart would stop. Or it would have if this was his real body. Nonetheless, he was petrified.

"I repeat, this is not a defect," Kayaba went on. "This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be." He paused, letting the shock settle.

"You cannot log yourselves out of SAO, and no one from the outside world may attempt to remove the Nervegear rig from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, the Nervegear will discharge a microwave signal into your brain, and end your life," The apparition before them said.

Ion dropped to his knees, _he's right, the signals pumping us into this game work just like microwaves. If the safety is switched off, that could kill us!_

"Despite my warnings, the families and friends of several players attempted to remove their Nervegears- an unfortunate decision to say the least." Kayaba continued.

"No…" Ion muttered.

"As a result, the game now has two hundred and thirteen less players than when it started," red cloak announced.

A number of windows opened around the massive figure, and Ion glanced at them, one showed a familiar bakery, with a familiar pair of adults trying to comfort a familiar young girl. _EMMA!_ He gasped internally.

His observation had made him miss what Kayaba last said. He did hear the next part though.

"It's important to remember the following: There is no longer any way to revive someone. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system. And the Nervegear will simultaneously destroy your brain," Kayaba's latest newsflash echoed through the plaza.

 _We're so dead_. Ion thought with a sigh.

"There is only one way for a player to escape now, you must clear the game," The massive figure boomed, he made a command on his menu, and a large hologram of Aincrad. "Right now, you are gathered on floor one, the lowest level of Aincrad. Defeat the boss in the floor's dungeon, and you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on floor one hundred, and you will have cleared the game."

"Defeat all one hundred floors?!" A player yelled. "That's friggin' impossible! Not even the beta testers got that high!"

"You want us to beat an MMO?!" A player demanded, next to Ion. "When was the last time you heard of someone beating Everquest?"

"When was the last time you heard of someone _playing_ Everquest?" Ion asked him.

"Fair point," The other player shrugged.

"Lastly, I have placed an item in the inventory of every player, please have a look," He said. It sounded like a request, but there was gravity behind the words, making it seem like a demand.

So, everyone complied, opening their menus and accessing their inventories. Indeed, like Kayaba said, there was an extra item in their storage, Ion summoned it to his hand, disappointed to see that it was a mirror.

Staring down at the small reflective surface, he saw the face of the avatar he had worked to create. He then heard a player yelp in surprise. He snapped his gaze round, but was suddenly blinded by a flash of bright blue light.

At first, Ion thought it was another teleport, but he didn't feel his feet leave the ground. And when the glow faded, he saw he was exactly where he had been beforehand.

"What was that?" He asked no one in particular. Glancing down at the mirror, he was very surprised to see not the face of his avatar, but the face of Marcus Cersy, with his raven black hair and ice blue eyes.

"What the hell? Why would this happen? And how?" He wondered aloud.

"The headgear has an internal scanner built in, so that's how it has our faces, but how does it know our height and body type?" Another player muttered.

"Remember when it asked us to do that 'calibration'? Patting yourself like this?" Another pointed out, patting his sides.

 _Ok, thank you convenient explanation_ , Ion shrugged. Glancing around, he saw that the gender ratio had changed drastically, with nine out of ten players now male, and only one female out of that ten. He then glared up at the game creator.

"Right now, you are probably wondering: why?" Kayaba went on. "Why would Akihiko Kayaba, creator of Sword Art Online and Nervegear, do this?" He paused, almost collecting his thoughts, before continuing, "Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. I wanted to control the fate of a world of my design. As you can see, I have completed my goal."

 _He wants to have a game of chess against himself, and we're his thousands of pawns, trying to wage war against a king._ _Well, he'll get his war. You're going down Kayaba!_ Ion growled.

"This marks the end of the tutorial, and the official start of Sword Art Online," Kayaba said, his announcement coming to a close. "Players, I wish you the very best of luck." And with those words, his giant avatar started to sag and collapse in on itself while dissolving into dark smoke that drifted back up through the cracks in the sky.

The very second the smoke vanished, the sky returned to normal. Ion gripped his fists, _Kayaba… I looked up to you, you were a hero to the world of gamers and science! Now however… my respect for you has turned into craving revenge! I swear! Kayaba! I'll kill you!_

The following silence was deafening, no one dared to move, no one could speak, they were all frozen, petrified by the herculean task set before them.

The sound of glass shattering, and a scream in the plaza broke this silence, everyone exploded, making demands, cries, shouts, it was awful. Ion took initiative, making a move and pushing his way out of the plaza, he had to get out there and fight!

* * *

Things settled down eventually, around midnight. Ion stood on a rooftop, watching players form parties, arming to the teeth in the markets, or some slumping into inns, he yawned, having been grinding since the game of death began, getting his level to ten from killing mobs like there was no tomorrow.

He hopped off the roof, and stepped into the inn. Some players were at the bar, doing their best to drown in sorrows and alcohol, but all drinks did in the game was give a debuff to movement speed and sway the sight of the player. Others were sitting at tables, comforting each other and crying quietly. Ion walked up to the innkeeper, who was quietly cleaning an empty mug behind the bar.

"Welcome, weary traveller, to our humble inn, would you like to rent a room?" He asked.

"I'd like to rent a room for a night," Ion said.

"One room? That would be ten col," the man responded. Ion opened his menu and pulled out the necessary money. A small pouch appeared in his left hand, and he handed it over. The innkeeper gave him a key in return with the number seven on it.

Ion thanked the owner, and headed up the stairs to find his room. Walking down the hallway, he stopped when he saw a door with seven etched into the woodwork.

The room itself was rather unimpressive, a normal looking bed was made in the corner, and a window looked out to the street below. Ion unclipped his rapier from his belt, and put it by the bed, then walked over to the window to look up at floor two.

"I won't give up… no way! I will make my way home. Mother… Father… please watch for my return," Ion muttered quietly.

No matter what happened, he would bring this world crashing down on Akihiko Kayaba.


	2. Chapter 2: The Kobold Lord

**I finally got this chapter out! Ok, so Word decided to give me a kick in the pants and delete the save I had for this story, so I had to start chapter 2 all over again! And I was almost done too! Oh well, here we are with chapter 2.**

 **Disclaimers: You know the drill, I don't own SAO, only in dreamland. I do own my OCs!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – The Kobold Lord**

 **Title song - 'Strike Back' by NateWantsToBattle**

* * *

 _It's been two months since SAO… this game of death began. No progress has been made, the boss room has not been found yet and to make matters worse, two thousand people have lost their lives. Some through combat, others couldn't take the pressure and committed suicide by leaping off the sides._

Ion opened his eyes, and looked around the plaza, he had made it to the small town of Tolbana last night, and rented up a room of one of the inns. The following morning, he had heard of a meeting, about trying to find the boss room, that would be taking place at midday.

Glancing up at the clock that was in the top right corner of his vision display, 11:55. Kicking off the wall he was leaning against, he headed for where he knew the meeting would take place, in the theatre.

* * *

Stepping into the arena, he saw many players sitting on the bleachers, some were spear users, others had maces or short axes, but there were a couple with bigger weapons like battleaxes, warhammers and greatswords, however, the majority were swordsmen. Climbing the steps, he took a seat in the main group.

A blue haired young man stepped up onto the main stage, wearing slightly more advanced blue armor than anyone else. Clapping his hands, he cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him.

"Alright, let's get this meeting underway!" He called out. "My name is Diavel, and the job I rolled… is knight!"

Ion just rolled his eyes, while others burst out laughing, "There's no job system in this game dude!" one player called out.

"Hey! You guys want to hear this or not?" Diavel's tone changed from friendly to exasperated. This seemed to quell the jeers he was getting, so he continued, "Truth is, me and my party finally found the boss room at the top of the tower yesterday."

This got the crowd's full attention, and Ion leaned forward in interest.

"First, we need to defeat the boss and advance to floor two," Diavel said. "Next, we need to tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game!" Clenching his fist, he went on, "Fact is, it's out duty as the most capable players in this game. So, are you in? Or out?" His last words sounded more like a challenge than a request.

Ion gave a smirk as the collective of players cheered at his words, _this guy is smart, I'll give him that_.

"Ok," Diavel grinned easily. "Glad to know we're on the same page here. So, let's put our heads together and figure out a strategy to defeat the boss. First step, divide into parties of five or six. A typical team won't stand a chance against a floor boss, so we need a raid group of multiple parties."

Ion glanced around, seeing groups form. As he did, he felt a tapping on his shoulder, turning, he saw a blonde girl with a spear in a sleeve on her back behind him, "Need a party? We need one more over here," she asked, pointing to where four others were sat.

Ion nodded, "As long as you accept me, I'll be honored," he smirked, and followed the girl back to her party.

"Found a straggler," she reported, and they both sat down in the party.

A cyan haired young man faced Ion, and held out a hand, "Call me Cyrus, meet my friends Mars, Saturn and Jupiter," he said, pointing to a red-haired girl, a blue-haired teen and a purple-haired young woman, in that order. All four were wearing light grey mixed with dark grey outfits.

"I'm Ion," shaking the hand, Ion gave a smile, "Please don't tell me you guys are long-time fans of Pokémon?" He asked.

"We are indeed," Cyrus nodded, giving a smirk.

"If I had any interest in dying my hair a ridiculous color, I would join you, but I don't, so sorry, but I'll join you for this raid," Ion said.

"Fair enough, Angel here is also solo, so we understand when we part ways," Saturn chuckled.

 _Angel…? That name sounds familiar…_ Ion thought, and turned to the girl.

"You heard it from him, but yeah, I'm Angel," The blonde shrugged.

"Have we met before?" Ion asked.

"Maybe, I remember meeting this one guy who helped me with a pig back on day one, but I forgot his name…" Angel muttered.

"There we go, thought you were familiar," Ion grinned.

"Alright, looks like we're all set! Now then-!" Diavel started.

"Hold on a sec!" Someone called down from above them, and Ion glanced up to see the speaker was a man in his mid-twenties, with orange hair that was spiked up like a little cactus. On his chin was a neat little goatee. He also looked very angry.

He leaped down the bleachers, bounding over Ion to land on the stage, a few feet from Diavel. "My name's Kibaou, got that?!" He spat, turning to face everyone. "And before we get to take on the boss, I've got something I'd like to get off my chest."

Ion glanced at his party, which put their heads on one hand, almost bored already. He didn't blame them, _we're here to beat a boss, not start a debate_ , he thought.

"You've all heard of the two thousand people who are dead, yeah?" He demanded. Pointing an accusing finger at the crowd, he added, "well, some of you need to apologize to them, right now!"

Ion's eyebrow rose, _where's he going with this?_

"Kibaou," Diavel spoke up, his voice even and calm. "You're referring to the former beta testers, aren't you?"

"Duh! Of course I am!" Kibaou snapped, "The day this stupid game started, they just up and vanished! Leaving us new players to fend for ourselves! They snagged all the good hunting spots, and grabbed the easy quests too!" He waved his hand dismissively, and went on, "This whole time, they've ignored us like we're nothing!"

He growled angrily, as he continued, "Hell, I bet there's a few of them here! Come on out, beta testers!" his tone had changed to a challenging one. "We should make them apologize, and hand over all their items too!" Folding his arms, he added, "They can't expect the party to trust them if they don't trust us- why should we?"

Ion had started growling as some people agreed with his words, "Can I say something?" He stopped when he heard Cyrus speak, standing up, Kibaou and Diavel both looked at him, as he moved down to the stage in a calmly fashion.

"Call me Cyrus," He introduced himself to the group. "Now, I don't know about the rest of you warriors, but me and my friends came here today to learn from our lost comrades, we're here to beat a boss, not divide our numbers even more-so than before."

"I'd like to add more to Cyrus' comment," a behemoth of a man a row down and along to the right stood, he was dark of skin, with rippling muscles, and he was armed with a massive axe to boot. "Name's Agil, Kibaou, right?" He looked at the cactus head, who nodded nervously.

"Let me recap what you just said," He said, walking down and joining those on stage. "You're sayin' we should blame the beta testers for the rookies' deaths, because they didn't help 'em. And they should give up their winnings and apologize? I leave anything out?"

"No," Kibaou said shortly, but seemed wary of the axe on Agil's back.

"Well, you're wrong," The giant told him, and pulled out a small book bound by leather. "The item store hands these out for free- it's a guide book. You got one, didn't you?"

Ion didn't bat an eyelid, and pulled out his own guidebook that he had gotten updated the other day, it was useful, giving valuable tips and tricks.

"Yeah? What about it?" Kibaou asked, noticing that Cyrus too had pulled out a guidebook.

"You know who wrote this and handed them out?" Agil asked, and didn't wait for an answer. "The ex-beta testers."

Ion expected so, the information was too advanced for NPCs or rookies to put together, it had to be the beta testers.

"Listen up- everyone had equal access to this information. Even so, lots of players still died." His expression grew somber as he glanced over and nodded at Cyrus. "But like Cy here, I came here to learn from their deaths, I'm here because I want to beat a boss."

Agil gave a look that dared Kibaou to add more, but the cactus head just slumped onto one of the bleachers, and Agil and Cyrus returned to their seats.

Diavel glanced around, and sighed, "Ok, can we get back to the meeting now?" He asked. When no one protested, he pulled out a brown book identical to the one that Ion held in his hands. "Now, the info on the boss is right in here, the latest edition of the guide book that you just heard about."

Opening to some of the later pages, he continued, "According to the guide, the boss is called 'Illfang the Kobold Lord'. He'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Illfang himself is armed with an axe and a buckler. He has four HP bars, and when the last one drops into the red, he'll switch weapons to a curved sword called a talwar. He can change his attack patterns too."

Here, Ion stood, "Before we continue, may I stress something I've noticed on my travels to here today?" He asked.

"Go ahead, if it can help us," Diavel nodded.

"Several times, I've used this book to get advantages on quests or areas for hunting, and I've seen somethings that either weren't in the beta altogether, or changes from how the book says. All I'm saying is, please be extra observant of the boss or his minions, if you can, get behind the boss and see if he still is using a Talwar, he could be using any form of curved sword for all we know," Ion explained.

"You're right, now that you mentioned it, I remember hearing about a party that were cut down by a monster ambush after attacking a rare mob that called in every monster in the area, two died, and the other two were saved only due to the arrival of another three," Diavel nodded. "That wasn't in the book."

"That's it for the briefing," Diavel announced. "Money will be divided equally among players. The party that defeat the boss gets the EXP. Whoever gets an item gets to keep it. Any objections?"

"Fair set of rules actually, this way, no one gets treated unfairly about loot," Mars shrugged.

No one objected to the loot rules, and Diavel gave a grin, "Alright, meeting adjourned! We leave tomorrow at 10AM sharp!"

* * *

Ion leaned against a post in the town square, composing his thoughts. _Kibaou…_ he gave a small glare at the cactus head, that was having a drink with Diavel. _I swear… if you start causing trouble...!_

"Hey," He came out of his thoughts, hearing the voice of Saturn approach, as well as Mars and Angel.

"Hey yourselves," Ion gave a respectful nod, "Where's Cyrus and Jupiter?"

"We all know each other IRL, those two are lovers, not sure how far it is between them," Mars shrugged.

"Really? Huh. Fancy that," Ion raised an eyebrow, "Anyway, what's up?"

"Just wanted to check up, make sure that you're good?" Angel said.

"Honestly… I don't know, I'm scared that we'll lose players tomorrow," Ion sighed, closing his eyes.

"You're afraid it might be you that dies, right?" Saturn asked.

"Yeah, I got a sister out there…" Ion looked out at the second floor, which looked like a night sky. "I have to keep fighting and make it home, for her…"

"Don't worry bud, we got your back, you ain't the only one fighting for family," Mars gave a smile.

Ion gave a smile in return, "Thanks guys, I'll try not to let you down tomorrow," he chuckled. "I think I might go turn in, see you at the gate tomorrow."

"Alright Ion, see you then," Angel nodded, as the raven-haired rapier user walked off to the inn.

* * *

"Ok, just to make sure, Angel, Ion, you two know the switch mechanic, right?" Cyrus asked, the raid party had set off, as scheduled at 10AM. Cyrus was going over tactics with his party.

"I am familiar with it, yeah," Ion nodded. "I used it quite a bit with old friends in older MMOs."

"I've heard of it, but I need a reminder," Angel shrugged.

"So, one of us will knock the enemy weapon out of the way with a sword skill, then we leap aside and someone else comes in to deal heavy damage while they're recovering," Jupiter explained.

Ion glanced around, noticing a pair of players following from a distance. He had seen them yesterday at the meeting, one was a young man, around sixteen, with black hair like him, wearing a blue shirt and black pants, a light breastplate was over his shirt, and a one-handed longsword was strapped to his back.

The other player was cloaked, but Ion could tell that they were a woman from their body frame, she seemed to also carry a rapier, attached to her hip.

Ahead, he saw Diavel leading the small army of players from the front, he could also easily see Agil towering above the squad he was in, and he also spotted Kibaou's ridiculous hair style in the mix of players.

Angel hung back, and Ion dropped back to walk with her, "You ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, nothing wrong, just wondering why he did this?" She asked.

"I don't think we'll ever know," Ion sighed, looking up through the trees at the floor above them. "But I do know that one day, we'll beat this game, and go home."

* * *

It wasn't long before they made it to the top of the dungeon. Diavel stood at the front, and pushed his sword down before him.

"Gentlemen," he began, "… and ladies," he added when Mars, Jupiter and Angel all coughed loudly. "I have one thing to say to you know. Let's win!"

Ion growled in response, as did several other players. Everyone drew their weapons, standing by for the call to arms.

Diavel opened the doors, which slammed loudly. The dark room ahead was very long, with four large pillars holding up the roof. At the end of the room, sat on a throne, was the boss itself.

Illfang looked like some really big fat kangaroo, with red skin, true to the guide he was armed with an axe and buckler. Even from this distance, Ion could see the hilt of another weapon across his back. Illfang stood, and leaped into the middle of the room, and his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels, spawned the moment he hit the ground.

As the room lit up brightly, Illfang's four health gauges popped up, and he and his three soldiers started sprinting across towards them.

"Commence attack!" Diavel yelled. Everyone roared as they followed his instructions, racing in to engage.

* * *

Diavel kept a steady head, giving instructions and orders that everyone understood. A, B and C squads attacked the boss itself, switching between attack and defense. Meanwhile, Squads D, E and F would focus on the minions, making sure they didn't attack the core group. Ion and his team were Squad E.

Ion ducked and weaved around several swipes from a sentinel, "How about some help over here?" He asked, glancing over to see if his team could take the aggro off him.

"I gotcha! Take this!" A cry was heard and the sound of metal ripping through flesh was heard. A spear head emerged through the chest of the sentinel, which then lifted it up and over, tossing it back over the user's head.

"Thanks for the save Angel. He's coming back!" Ion leapt over Angel, rapier glowing blue as he activated the sword skill Linear. Thrusting forward, he struck down the monster, which shattered into fragments of blue polygons.

"Has anyone had a good chance to see that weapon yet?" Diavel called.

"I did, it's a Nodachi, longer blade, more power and range!" Saturn yelled.

It wasn't too long after that when Illfang's HP hit the red stage. With a loud growl, he tossed aside his previous weapons, and pulled out a long, curved blade.

"Yep, definitely a Nodachi!" A player nodded.

"Stand aside! I got this!" Diavel suddenly called, charging to the front and preparing a sword skill.

"What's that idiot doing?!" Cyrus asked, finishing off a sentinel.

It was too late, Illfang leapt up into the air, and bounced around several of the pillars before coming down on Diavel. The blue haired young man yelled as he was cut across his chest, from shoulder to waistline, and he hit the ground hard.

"Diavel!" Kibaou called, before Illfang landed near him and his squad, and roared at them.

"Cover for us!" Ion called, and rushed over, as did another player from another squad.

That player reached him first, and pulled out an HP potion. But to the shock of both him and Ion, Diavel pushed it away.

"You were going after the last attack bonus, weren't you?" The other player asked.

"So… you were in the beta also? Then I want you to promise… you'll… win…" These were the last things he said before he shattered.

Ion's eyes widened, then he glared at the boss, who was wreaking havoc on the other squads. He turned to the other player.

"Hey, you ok pal?" He asked.

"I will be, after I put this thing six feet under," the player growled, he stood up, and glanced at Ion.

"Kirito, you are?" He asked.

"Call me Ion, now, are you ready to crush this fat slob?" Ion muttered.

"I'm going too," a girl in a cloak said, stepping up next to Kirito. Then, without a word, they all sprinted forward.

"We do this like the minions!" He said. Before blocking the Nodachi and batting it away with a sword skill. Ion and the girl then shot past, a sword skill ready.

Ion saw a gleam in Illfang's eye, and therefore aborted, and leapt up. "Asuna!" Kirito called. The girl ducked under a heavy swing, and Ion thought she had been done in. But a blur of chestnut and a pink light confirmed that 'Asuna' was still kicking.

"It's coming back!" Kirito called, getting back in, and clashing with the bigger sword several times. Asuna then stabbed again, followed by Ion.

Illfang swung down, and Kirito jumped in, blocking more hits, before a pink sword ducked under his guard, and slashed across his chest, and knocking him into Ion and Asuna, all three getting sent flying.

Ion sat up to see a shadow fall on them, and lifted his rapier in a futile attempt to stop the incoming Nodachi. But a manly cry told him there was no need, as a flash of green shot over them.

Agil gave a grin as he swatted Illfang back. This seemed to kick start the other players, and everyone was charging back in.

"We'll hold this bastard off until your health's back up!" He assured them.

"You got it, thanks man," Kirito nodded.

Agil and four others all attacked at once, trying to get rid of the Nodachi, but one mighty swing knocked them all away.

As Illfang readied the same skill that ended Diavel, Kirito was on his feet. "Watch out!" He called, and held his sword over his shoulder. Illfang came screaming down on Agil, but Kirito intercepted it, and knocked the boss into the floor.

Kirito rolled, but kept going. "Come on Asuna! Ion! One last attack!" He called.

"Right!" Ion called, as he and his fellow rapier user sprinted after him.

In perfect sync, the three warriors landed skill after skill, until Kirito used the skill Slant, and cut down the rest of Illfang's HP, who exploded in a brilliant display of light and pixels.

Everyone was silent, until someone chuckled, at that, a notification popped up, saying CONGRATULATIONS! Everyone cheered, some leveling up from the battle, others bumping fists at rewards.

"Nice job," Ion looked over at Asuna, who had approached a crouched Kirito.

"That was some fine swordsmanship, congratulations, today's victory is all thanks to you," Agil added.

"No…" Kirito began, but everyone agreed with Agil, cheering at Kirito's display. Ion gave him a thumbs up, agreeing with the big man as well.

Well, everyone cheered until a shout echoed throughout the room, " _Stop Cheering!"_ Ion instantly looked back, seeing Kibaou sat there.

"Why'd you do it huh?" He asked. "Why'd you let Diavel die?!"

This set a chill throughout the room. "Let him die?" Kirito muttered.

"That's what I said! You knew the technique the boss was gonna use, you could've warned us! You could have saved him, then Diavel wouldn't have to die!"

"I know why! He used to be a beta tester!" A player called out.

Murmurs filled the room, until Ion gave a growl. "Then you should blame Diavel too then," he said.

Silence fell upon the room again, as Ion spoke. "The hell'd you say?" Kibaou asked.

"You trust the guy who brought you here, but you dis the guy who'll take you to the next floor? When both are beta testers," Ion said clearly.

Kibaou was speechless, so Ion hammered it home, "How could Kirito have let Diavel die if both were in the Beta? Illfang used a Talwar in the beta, and a Nodachi today, so what?" He paused. "Unfortunately, before this game will end, we will lose friends, family, brothers-in-arms, but we don't do what you're doing Kibaou. We learn from our fallen brethren's mistakes, and strive to improve upon those mistakes."

"So there will be no despising this swordsman for his acts here today, just a lesson. No matter how bad things look, just keep moving forward. And if that doesn't work, attack from another angle until all the obstacles have been cut down," Ion said, walking towards Kibaou.

No one spoke, until a clap was heard. Then another. Then another. Ion waved off the applause. "No applause to me, this was a group effort, both in the physical sense and the emotional sense."

He looked back, expecting to see Kirito, but he was gone, having left for the second floor without a second glance.

Ion sighed, _we'll meet again Kirigaya, and you'd better buy me a drink when we do_.

* * *

 **Ion: And that my friends, is how you stop a moron from marking the beta tests.**

 **Kirito: Thanks for that, let's see if it lasts.**

 **Ion: No problem, but like I put at the end then, you owe me a drink.**

 **Kirito: Heh, I'll try to remember.**

 **Emma: Just to clarify, since big bro knows Suguha IRL, it would make sense he also knows Kirito IRL too.**

 **All: Next time: The Young Tamer!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Young Tamer

**I'm on a roll! Time for a completely original chapter, and the forging of a powerful bond.**

 **You may notice two things, I'm going to start adding title songs to each chapter. I'll also start to input the rough date of the chapter and the floors that we go to. Let me know if you like this idea or not!**

 **Enjoy, Read and Review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Young Tamer**

 **Title Song - Winterspell by Two Steps From Hell  
**

* * *

2023, 4th October

Floor Twenty-One

* * *

"Hyah!" A yell was heard through the fields as Ion thrust his rapier through the bones of his opponent. The Skeleton Soldier gave a shriek, before shattering into fragments.

He then turned his attention to the other one, which was now rushing in, sword raised and shield held in front. Ion ducked under the sword, and leapt back to a short distance, then, he activated the sword skill Shooting Star, a more powerful version of Linear.

The skill landed a critical blow, and Ion jabbed his rapier against the skeleton soldier's ribs, and dealt with the last of it's HP. Ion breathed hard as he twirled his weapon around, and sheathed it at his waist.

Ion was now wearing a white jacket over an ocean blue shirt. In between the layers was a light silver breastplate. He was also wearing black pants, boot and fingerless gloves. His rapier, called Light Foil, was a simple steel blade with a black hilt and blue handguard.

He opened his menu, and went to the quest log, "Yep, that's the last one, now all I need is to beat two Skeleton Sergeants," he muttered out loud, and dismissed the log. Opening his map, he looked for the area he had been told by an info broker where to find the target enemies.

As he did, he heard a battle cry over the hill behind him. Shrugging, he decided to investigate.

When he reached the crest of the hill, he saw a girl in a yellow coat cartwheeling around a boar, before her dagger lit up green, and she thrust out three times, before delivering a final stab, which finished the creature off. Ion recognized the dagger skill as Faded Edge.

The girl put her dagger in a small sheath on her belt, and whistled. Ion was rather shocked to see a small feathered dragon come down from above and engulf her in a light blue breath.

"Those were some nice skills," He called down, doing his best to not appear threatening to her.

The girl seemed to yelp, and jumped into a weary stance, "Who goes there?!" She asked, looking up. "Friend or foe?!" The little dragon seemed to growl at her words, also looking up at Ion.

"I approach as a friend, and have no intention of being a foe," he said, raising his hands in a sign of surrender.

"Sorry, I can get jumpy when I meet new people," the girl said, calming down.

"It's ok, you can't be too careful anymore, not with scumbags like Laughing Coffin out there," Ion shook his head, and walked down the hill to approach her.

Now that he was closer, he saw she had brown hair tied up in a pair of small tails by red bows, and had sweet red eyes that matched her innocence.

He noted her yellow coat had red details, and saw she had a black shirt underneath and black shorts as well. Her chest was covered in a steel breastplate, and matching shoulder pads too. Her belt carried her dagger, and she also had a small pouch on her back as well. To finish, she had brown fingerless gloves, and high yellow boots with black socks going up a bit further.

"That's a familiar, isn't it?" Ion asked, pointing at the dragon.

"This is Pina, my best friend," the girl said, then her eyes widened. "I'm Silica."

"Call me Ion," the boy in white nodded. "How are you for quests and supplies?" He asked.

"I've got a few crystals and potions left, and I've got one quest left," Silica told him. "And you?"

"Same," Ion nodded. "What quest is it you have to do? I got 'beat the sergeants'."

"Huh, that's a coincidence, that's all I have left too!" Silica said, opening her quest log and checking the ones she had done already.

She closed her menu, and looked at Ion, "Do you wanna party up? We could get it done faster?" She asked.

"Sure, it'd be nice to have some company to talk to, I'm kind of a solo player at the moment," Ion gave a grin, and sent her an invitation through his menu.

Silica accepted it, and her health bar appeared under his, then, a smaller HP gauge appeared under that one. Ion assumed that must be Pina's health bar.

"Shall we go then?" He asked, and the two players set off, Ion leading the way with his map open.

* * *

Along the way, Ion kept glancing at Silica, who started to notice after a while, "What?" She asked.

"Nothing really, just… how'd someone your age get your hands on a Nervegear? The advisable age is thirteen… you look younger than that," Ion said.

"My dad got it for me while I was at school, he told me I could use it and I dived in back on that fateful day," Silica shrugged. "My handle is actually a wordplay on Silicon Dioxide," she then said.

"Huh, is that why you tie your hair up like that? To symbolize the two oxygen atoms in the element?" Ion asked.

"Y…yeah! How'd you guess that?" She asked.

"Well, you tie your hair up with red ribbons, one on each side of you. You're the Silicon, they're the oxygen atoms bound to you," Ion shrugged.

"You're the first person to ever figure that out," Silica told him. "In all fairness though… why'd you chose to let me tag along? You could have gone on your own, but you let me come with you."

Ion gave a smile, "You remind me of my sister. Not by appearance, but I can tell you have that energetic personality that my sister has, and you love animals by the looks of things," he said, pointing to Pina.

"Really? What's she like?" Silica asked.

"Well, she's always been the excitable one out of us. When news came that our parents had died in a dig site, she was the first of us to recover," Ion sighed.

"Dig site?" Silica questioned the phrase.

"They were archeologists, they traveled to excavation sites all over the world in search of fossils or old Dinosaur bones," Ion explained. "Whenever they had a place to go, they left us the care of the neighbors. It was a good thing we were at home when the news reached us, Jun and Amelia allowed us to live with them, as long as we helped with their bakery. We owe those two our lives."

"Sorry for bringing up sour memories," Silica winced.

"No. It's ok, I've long since come to terms with their deaths, and need to continue to grow into a strong individual, but I'm thankful for the Takahiro's help. I don't think I would be able to raise my sister by myself…" Ion trailed off.

His eyes narrowed as he set eyes on a dungeon ahead, "our targets are in there," he said, closing his menu.

"You sure?" Silica asked.

"The information broker I got the intel from said the dungeon exterior was nothing like the rest of the floor, look at this place. No skeletons, and sunlight," Ion said, sure enough, as if the clouds were frozen in time, there was a patch of sunlight shining down on the grass ahead.

He paused on the entrance, "Be on your guard, I was told there were a few traps in here," he said to his companion.

"I'll be careful," Silica assured him.

Ion pulled a consumable item out of his inventory, a stick wrapped in cloth, that lit up with a healthy flame. "Let's go," He said.

* * *

The Skeleton Sergeants were rare enemies, Ion deduced, as he cut down an Assault Skeleton. They had found one, and since they were in a party, their quests shared the kill.

"There!" Silica pointed, spotting the elusive monster walking around, a shield on one arm, and a black mace in the other.

"Direction?" Ion asked.

"Right," Silica stated. At those words, the two sprang into action.

Ion curved around, and charged towards the skeleton from the right, sword glowing yellow with Shooting Star. The monster's eyes glowed red, as it detected him approaching, and it raised it's shield to defend.

Ion's rapier bashed against the defensive object, knocking the arm that held it up and out of the way, "Silica! Switch!" He called.

Silica was already moving, dagger glowing blue as she dashed past the monster, slashing heavily into it's side, then leaping back across it's other side. This was the two-hit skill Swift Trick, one of the fastest for the dagger.

As her skill finished, she nodded, "Sword skill! Finish it off!" She called.

Ion's rapier was already glowing blue with the five-hit skill Neutron. Leaping up, he thrust four times, before dropping into a crouch, whirling around and stabbing hard through the sergeant's chest. As it shattered, Ion gave a fist pump of approval.

"We make a good team," Silica smiled, coming over.

"We do, good job," Ion nodded, and held out a fist for her. When the girl tilted her head, Ion had to resist rolling his eyes. Taking her right hand, he curled her hand into a fist, and bumped it against his own. "You've honestly never heard of a fist bump?"

Silica gave a giggle, "No, I haven't," she shook her head.

"Well, it's a sign of respect," Ion explained, chuckling.

Both laughed a little, before Ion looked at the way ahead, "What do you think? Shall we go back to town? Or continue?" He asked.

"Why not? Come on, let's explore a little," Silica smiled.

Ion nodded at her enthusiasm, "Sure, onwards it is then!"

* * *

The two kept going throughout the dungeon, Ion keeping his map open to register the route. Eventually, Silica started shivering, "it's getting chilly," she muttered.

"Really? I never really noticed," Ion raised an eyebrow, now that he noticed, he could see his breath was forming condensation. "We must be reaching the bottom of the dungeon, be prepared for anything, from a mini-boss to a monster house."

Silica nodded, "It's cold…" she whispered. Ion opened his menu, and made an adjustment to his avatar. Then he closed the window and took off his jacket, wrapping it around Silica.

"Here, I barely feel the cold, so you keep warm," He said kindly.

Silica took the jacket and put it on around her upper body, instantly, she began to feel even warmer.

Ion pressed on, causing Silica to hurry after him.

* * *

"I knew it…" Ion gave a feral grin, as before them was a large hound. It's body was bright blue, with darker blue patches on it's ears and body. It's tail was extremely fluffy looking, but Ion knew not to approach yet.

"What do you mean?" Silica asked, looking up at the dog.

"This is the real reason I saved this quest for last, because I heard this hound had a decent reward for defeating it in combat, however, no one ever had the guts to face it in battle," Ion said.

"Then what will you do?" Silica asked.

"I shall fight her. Alone," Ion said.

"What?" Silica asked. "Are you out of your mind?" She demanded.

"Maybe. But call me a bit of a thrill seeker," He smirked, drawing his sword.

The hound seemed to snarl at the weapon being brought to bear. Ion chuckled, as an HP gauge appeared, and a name. Ice Pack Mother.

"In the name of this sword, I shall defeat you," Ion yelled. And charged forward.

* * *

Ion leapt back as the wolf attempted to snap him in two, then slid sideways away from a paw swipe. After this, his sword glowed blue, and he activated the skill Neutron. The wolf growled in pain as she was struck, and her back paw lashed out to swat him away. Ion was knocked onto an icy area, and he carefully got to his feet, even as the wolf walked towards him.

"Big mistake, I live for the element of Ice!" he called out, and began to expertly skate across the ice with ease. Ion's sword lit up yellow, and he lunged forward with Shooting Star, then he leapt back before the counter could take place. But he miscalculated his movements, and slipped backwards into a cave on the far side of the cavern.

He sat up, and noticed something rather weird, a small version of the wolf was looking at him curiously. The little wolf gave a yip, before bounding onto his lap.

Silica heard Ion from the back cave, and rushed across, avoiding the wolf that prowled at the entrance with anger.

"Hey! Stop it!" Ion called out. Silica rushed in, dagger drawn…

To find a puppy wolf licking Ion's face. "Hey! That tickles!" Ion laughed.

He noticed the puppy stop, and nuzzle him affectionately. The mother wolf noticed this too, and seemed to stop snarling. Now, she was merely intrigued. A window appeared before Ion, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

'This Ice Wolf Puppy wants to become your familiar. Will you accept this burden?' It read.

Ion hesitantly pushed yes, and a keyboard appeared before him. Ion looked at Silica, "Could you check it's gender? I need to know before I come up with something," He asked.

"Don't look at me, that's your pet now," She giggled with a pout. Ion sighed, and looked under the puppy's tail.

"A girl, I'll call you…" and he entered the name he had decided on. A small health gauge appeared under his, with the name 'Aurora'.

He then turned to the mother, "I promise with all that I am, I will keep your pup safe," He said, sitting up into a kneel, head held low.

The mother came closer, and Silica watched numbly, as she bent her front legs, and seemed to bow as well.

"Huh… I made friends with a wolf, my day is done," Ion blinked, petting the mother's soft fur.

* * *

They stayed a little longer, until Ion deemed they should head back to society, waving goodbye to the mother wolf. She howled as she watched them leave.

Ion grinned, and glanced at the puppy that was riding on his right shoulder. "Aurora, I promise, we'll be good friends," he said.

He then turned to Silica, "May I continue to party up with you? I'd like some tips on training Familiars I guess," he asked.

"We can be friends too? Right?" Silica countered.

Ion's response was opening his window, and sending something to Silica.

'Ion wants you to be his friend. Accept?' She tapped yes without a glance.

"The four of us will be a team, how's that sound?" Ion asked.

"Sure!" Silica beamed.

* * *

 **Ion: Original chapter complete, it's not a dragon, and its attribute is ice, therefore, it's not copying Mataras.**

 **Emma: I don't think anyone was arguing that it was...**

 **Silica: Now we're a powerful team of swords and cute adorable familiars.**

 **Kirito: Where am I at this time?**

 **Ion: ... brooding over the death of Sachi...**

 **Emma: Oh... right, no Mataras means no one to help her...**

 **Silica: This'll be hard to remember.**

 **Sachi: I can still join you here though!**

 **All: Sachi!**

 **Sachi: Next time: Light and Darkness  
**


	4. Chapter 4: Light and Darkness

**Welcome to chapter four! This chapter will go pretty much the same way the one in the anime went, with a tiny change to how it went in Watchman of the Stars. So, without any delay, let's get to it!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Light and Darkness**

 **Title Song - Heroes (We could be) by Alesso (feat. Tove Lo)**

* * *

2024, February 23

Floor Thirty-Five: Lost Forest

* * *

"What are you two talking about? You have that pet lizard with healing powers," A red headed woman sighed.

Ion rolled his eyes at the woman's casual attitude. He and Silica had partied up with another bunch of players to grind on floor thirty-five, however, one of the players was being… difficult.

"Rosalia, who are you to talk? You barely fight up front anyway, so why must we give our healing crystals to you?" He muttered. Aurora and Pina both started growling at the red head.

"Because I'm not part of an idol duo like you two, fans won't eagerly heal me," Rosalia explained.

Silica was about to close her menu, finishing the trade, when Ion's hand stopped her, "Don't bow to her demands," he said. Then he glared at Rosalia. "We'll be leaving this party now," He told her.

With his jacket flapping behind him, he whirled around. "Come on Silica, we don't need this hag weighing us down."

Silica nodded, and the two walked into the forest.

* * *

"This is stupid! One of these things is bad enough! But three are just crazy!" Ion yelled, ducking under the massive wooden club that was being swung his way. In his hand was no longer a rapier, but a thin sword type weapon he'd commissioned from a smith, it was a thin silver blade, with a light blue pommel and black hilt. It was an estoc, called White Light.

Silica was jumping out of the way of one of the three drunken apes that had aggro'ed on them. These were large ape like monsters with large wooden clubs in one hand, and a big jug of alcohol in the other. This not only restored their health, it also gave them an attack buff as well.

"Aurora, ice fang that one's feet!" He commanded. His faithful little companion yapped, before zipping up to the pointed ape and taking a huge bite into it's foot. As Aurora cleared away, it was noticed that ice was forming on the large appendage, and spread quickly up the leg and down to the ground.

Silica meanwhile was recovering from a heavy swing that had knocked her off her feet, "Pina! Heal!" She instructed. The little feathered dragon flew down, and exhaled a warm blue breath upon her, and her HP was restored to around sixty percent.

Ion grunted, "We're outmatched and outgunned here!" He yelled.

"You want to run?" Silica asked.

"It would be- Look out!" Ion warned. Silica reacted a moment too late, and was smashed against a tree by a powerful clubbing from one of the apes.

"Silica!" Ion yelled. He lit up his sword, and activated his new skill, Quadruple Pain. Four lightning fast jabs that knocked his foe off it's feet. Then he heard the crunch sound, and whirled around in fear.

When he saw Silica still there, he sighed with relief, then he saw she was bent over, and embracing something that was glowing blue. Ion looked closer, and gasped as Pina shattered into pixels.

"Pina!" Silica yelped, and broke down into tears.

Ion saw the ape with the frozen foot break free, and join the ape that was now baring down on Silica. He was about to jump in, when he saw a blur of black and blue slash past all three apes.

As the three apes shattered, Ion glanced at their rescuer, and was surprised to see none other than Kirito standing there, in a black and blue coat, black pants and a yellow shirt. A blue glow faded on his sword, his face was void of emotion.

But he shook it off, and ran over to his friend, who was looking in awe at their savior, before she started tearing up again, and picked up a feather that was all that was left of Pina.

Aurora limped over, and Ion noticed she was slightly hurt, HP in the yellow, he picked her up, and knelt down next to Silica.

"Silica… I'm so sorry…" He muttered. "Pina…"

"Is gone…" The girl finished.

"What's that feather?" Kirito asked, walking up behind them.

"It's Pina, Silica's feathered familiar… or… what's left of her," Ion sighed.

"You're both beast tamers aren't you?" Kirito asked. "I'm sorry, if I had been here sooner, maybe I could-"

"No. it's my fault, I was the one who thought that the four of us could make it through the lost forest on our own," Ion muttered.

"Hey… is your wolf trained with the item tracker skill? Look!" Kirito said. Ion looked at his pointing, and surely enough, Aurora was pointing at Silica's hands with her snout.

"Silica! Let me see that," Ion gasped. The girl opened her hands, and the feather glowed faintly. Ion tapped it with his finger, and a window opened, 'Pina's Soul'.

Silica hugged it even tighter, and sniffled. Kirito was quick to jump in, "Hey, don't cry, that means that Pina hasn't left completely yet. There's a chance you can revive her."

This perked up the two tamers, "Are you sure?" Ion asked.

"On the south side of floor forty-seven is a field dungeon called the 'Hill of Memories', I heard there's an item there that can revive familiars," Kirito explained.

Ion sighed, they weren't ready for a floor that high, Silica knew that too.

"Normally, I'd go get the item for you, all you'd have to do is pay for the trip… but the flower won't bloom unless the familiar's master is there," Kirito sighed.

"We'll make it one day, this information is more than enough!" Ion grinned.

"Sorry to shoot you down, but there's a catch, if you don't get the flower in three days, that soul will fade forever," Kirito told them.

Ion stopped, and comforted Silica, who was about to break down into tears again.

Kirito stood up, "It's alright, you have three days," He said, and opened his menu. "Take this equipment, it should boost your stats by at least five levels, and if I tag along, we'll make it."

Silica looked at a window that had opened before her, and her eyes widened. Ion looked over her shoulder and peeked at the equipment, his eyebrows raising at the new gear.

"Hold it… why do you want to come?" Ion asked, helping Silica to her feet. Aurora leapt up onto his right shoulder, her head tilted in agreement. "Wait… I think I know, she reminds you of your sister too eh?"

Kirito jolted, "How'd you guess?" He asked.

"Same here, she reminds me of my younger, more carefree, but also sometimes shy, sister's attitude," Ion grinned.

"You got it," Kirito nodded.

Silica spoke up, "um… I know this is nowhere near enough col to pay you back-!"

Kirito stopped her, "No, that stuff is on me, besides, I have business on floor forty-seven myself."

"So, Silica, this is Kirito, we met at Floor One's boss raid," Ion said, patting the boy in black on the back. "This is Silica, a friend I made on Floor Twenty-One after becoming a beast tamer myself."

The two shook hands, "Nice to meet you," Silica smiled.

"Likewise," Kirito nodded back.

* * *

The three made it out of the forest, and entered the town of Mishe. Walking through the streets, Silica tried to spark conversation, "Do you live around here Kirito?" She asked.

"I'm on Floor Fifty, I was thinking about getting a room at an inn tonight," Kirito told them.

"You with the assault team then?" Ion asked.

"Yeah, but I've had a few days off lately," The boy in black shrugged.

"Silica! Ion!" The two turned at the hailing, spotting two players run over. One was a rather tubby player, and the other was a skinny player… with a skirt on. Ion had figured he had logged in as a female player back in the beginning, the two seemed to stick together pretty well though.

"You made it through the forest! We were worried!" Tubby said.

"Want to party up again? We'll go with you anywhere?" Skinny asked.

"Sorry guys, we're partied up with this guy, he's gonna take us up to the higher floors tomorrow," Ion told them. They both gave him a glare, as they walked away.

"Sorry about that," Silica said.

"You two seem rather popular," Kirito noted.

"Well, since we partnered up, we quickly gained a team name, The Dragon Wolves, we're kind of celebrities down here," Ion shrugged.

The three approached the inn when their popularity hit again, "Well, if it isn't the Dragon Wolves!" Ion had to resist a growl as the three turned to see Rosalia with the same party they were in earlier.

"You made it through the forest? Just you two? We were so worried when you ran off," She told them. "Wait a minute, where's your lizard friend? Did it…?"

"Pina died…" Silica muttered.

"But we'll get her back, this, I swear," Ion assured her, Aurora wouldn't stop growling at the woman before them.

"So, you'll be headed up to the Hill of Memories then? Even with your skills, I wonder if you'll get there with your level," Rosalia taunted.

"We will with Kirito watching our backs," Silica smirked.

"I was wondering who the stray was, you don't look so tough to me," the red head said, looking directly at Kirito.

He just shrugged, "How strong or weak I am is none of your business," He said. "Let's go."

Ion just missed the smirk that Rosalia gave as they left.

* * *

"Why is she so mean?" Silica sighed.

"Because she likes being the bossy snobby kind of person," Ion offered.

"Well… Is this your first MMO?" Kirito asked.

"I've played older ones before, but this is Silica's first game," Ion said.

"A person's character and attitude can often change in game, and some even like playing the role of the bad guy," Kirito began. "You see the cursors above us? And how they're green? If a player commits a crime, like theft or hurting another player, their cursor will go orange. The worst are known as player killers, also known as red players. They're all about murder…"

"Like Laughing Coffin…" Ion growled lowly. Aurora looked up from her bowl of milk, and whined at the mention of the dark guild.

"They kill other players?" Silica asked.

"In any other game, they'd chill out as a villain and have some laughs. But Sword Art Online is not any other game, that sort of thing is anything but laughable," Kirito gripped his drink tightly.

Silica looked nervous at his tense stare, "Kirito?" She asked.

Kirito snapped out of his thoughts, and realized his stare had unnerved her, "Sorry…" He sighed.

"Hey, no apology, me and Silica are in the same boat as you, you're a good person Kirito, after all, you saved our bacon back there," Ion shrugged.

"Thanks, now it looks like you're cheering me up," Kirito said.

"Hey, waiter? Can I make an order for some cheesecake?" Silica called out.

* * *

Kirito paid for two rooms, and handed a key to Silica, "Go on up Silica, I'd like to talk with Kirito for a bit," Ion said.

The girl shrugged, and went up to the rooms. Once she had gone, Ion pulled Kirito into a corner, "It's good to see you're still kicking Kirigaya," he smirked.

"You know, I don't know how I didn't recognize you back on floor one, but likewise Marc," Kirito grinned, and held up a fist.

"You owe me a drink for talking down that heat back then," Ion chuckled, bashing his own against it.

"I appreciate the help that day, so yeah, it's on me," Kirito nodded, calling over a waitress and making an order. His eyes widened, "I remember that I still need to give you some kit," he realized, and sent a trade window over with several items.

Ion shook his head, "I'm fine, I'm a bit higher than Silica, I'm probably ready for Floor Forty-Seven, it's her I'm concerned about," He said, dismissing the window. "You know you can't hide things from me for long, I see you've gained more mental scars since we parted ways," He sighed.

"… it's hard to talk about," Kirito mumbled. "It was back in October, I joined up with a small guild called the Moonlit Black Cats. They were small, as most guilds usually are, but the difference between this one and most was the comradery that they shared, they were all friends IRL, and knew how to cover each other's weaknesses and their strengths as well."

"Then one day…" Kirito paused. "It was a trap, four of us went in. I was the only one to crawl back out." He seemed to pause again.

"It's alright man, I know. The smaller guild losses are bad, but you lost all of them," Ion nodded, knowingly.

"Keita had a dream, that they would make it to the frontlines, but I killed that dream… and them… Ducker, Tetsuo, Sasamaru and Sachi… all of them died together," Kirito finished.

With that, he went upstairs. Ion followed, and knocked on Silica's door in a pattern.

She opened it a short moment later, in a green shirt and white shorts. Her hair was down, and trailed to her shoulders, and she quickly let Ion in.

Ion then went into his inventory, and pulled out a sleeping bag, and rolled it out on the other side of the room to the bed, Aurora leapt up onto the bed, and curled up, ready to sleep. He then changed his outfit into a simple white shirt and black shorts.

Both were settling down when they heard a knock at the door, Ion opened it to find Kirito there. "Yo," he said.

"I thought this was Silica's room?" Kirito asked.

"She's here, we just share the room usually, saves col, and we're cool about it," Ion shrugged. "Anyway, what's up?" He asked.

"Just thought there are a few things I wanted to tell you about before we set out tomorrow," Kirito said. "But it can wait until morning if you prefer."

"No, now is good, might as well get it done," Ion nodded.

Kirito came in, Silica was sat up on her bed, legs crossed and smiling sadly. Ion sat down next to her, as Kirito pulled the table into the middle of the room, and pulled up a chair. Lastly, he put an item on the top. Tapping it twice, it split open, forming a perfect sphere of blue light.

"What is this thing Kirito?" Asked Silica.

"It's a mirage sphere, handy for mapping out routes for quests or hunts, I often examine this at the end of a long day, and use it to plan the next day," Kirito explained.

"Man, the frontliners get all the cool toys," Ion joked.

"Here is the town area of Floor Forty-Seven," Kirito tapped one spot. Then he pointed somewhere else, "And this is the Hill of Memories." He began tracing a line from point A to point B. "I was thinking, if we take this route along here, we can…" he trailed off.

"Kirito?" Ion asked. But the more experienced swordsman shushed him, and shot for the door, slamming it open.

" _Who's there?!"_ He snapped.

Ion blinked, _that was fast! His reaction speed is incredible!_ He thought.

"What was that?" Silica asked, peeking out into the hallway.

"An eavesdropper," Kirito reported.

"But… that's impossible, you can't listen through a door without knocking first," Ion pointed out, as the two came back in the room.

"It's possible if the spy has leveled up their hearing skill enough," Kirito corrected him.

"But… why would someone eavesdrop on us?" Silica asked. Kirito just frowned, looking back at the closed door.

* * *

24th February, 2024.

Floor Forty-seven: Floria

* * *

The first thing that Ion and Silica saw when stepping off the teleport gate was flowers. Everywhere they looked, there were brightly colored flowers swaying gently in a morning breeze.

Silica had put on the outfit that Kirito had given her yesterday, a bright red overcoat glowed in the sun, it's colors were the opposite of her last coat, now with gold trims on the seams and a gold cross on the sleeves, and a black shirt was on underneath, between the two layers was a silver breastplate. She was also wearing a black pleated school skirt and black leggings that went up from her black boots to her knees and her hair was now tied up with a pair of red shiny ring baubles. A long skinny black dagger was clipped to her belt.

"Holy…!" Ion muttered.

"This place is like a dream!" Silica laughed.

"The whole floor is covered in flowers, that's why it's earned the name Flower Garden," Kirito explained.

The two boys watched Silica crouch down at a flower bed and giggle as a ladybug flittered away, Aurora sniffed several flowers next to her, and sneezed at all the pollen.

Ion glanced around again, and noticed something else. The couples. "Looks like a romantic place," he muttered, as the two walked over to where Silica was crouched.

"You gonna sit here all day? Or are we on a mission?" Ion reminded her, pulling her to her feet.

"Sorry, got sidetracked," she apologized, looking flustered.

"Come on," Kirito rolled his eyes.

* * *

As they left the town boundaries, Kirito pulled out two blue crystals, and handed them to his charges.

"Teleport crystals? Really?" Ion asked, but took the gem and pocketed it.

"It's just a precaution, I don't want to see you guys overcompensate today," Kirito shrugged.

The three players traveled along the road, with Kirito at the head. "Hey… Kirito?" Silica asked.

That was all she said before two vines snaked around her ankles and lifted her high into the air. Silica quickly grabbed her skirt before gravity took effect, and started flailing her dagger around. What had grabbed her was a large plant monster that had her above a large open maw.

"Silica!" Ion cried out with worry.

"Calm down! That thing's not that strong!" Kirito assured her.

"Easy for you to say!" Silica yelled. "Don't look but save me!"

Kirito was trying not to watch the scenario with amusement, Ion rolled his eyes at the boy's lack of help, drawing his sword.

"Silica! Divebomb!" He called, before he leapt up and cut through the vines. Silica swung her dagger, before it lit up blue and she shot down like a comet, stabbing the monster in the soft spot above. It exploded into shards, and she dropped to the ground. "Did you see anything?" She asked with a tint of pink in her cheeks.

"No, I didn't," Ion told her. Aurora shook her head too.

"Not really…" Kirito muttered.

"I swear Silica, what is it with you and monsters wanting a damn panty shot at you?" Ion asked, when they got back on the road.

"This has happened before?" Kirito asked.

"Yup, she's been tossed around a few times now, and it's nearly always by her legs," Ion chuckled.

"Ion! We agreed to keep that between us!" Silica blushed furiously. She shook her head, and turned to Kirito. "Like I tried earlier, what's your sister like?" She asked.

"Why'd you want to know?" Kirito asked.

"You said I reminded you of her," Silica reminded him.

"Well… I call her my sister, but she's actually my cousin," Kirito sighed. "We were raised like siblings since we were babies, so I doubt she even knows. But I know, and maybe that's why I started distancing myself from her."

"I never knew this," Ion said, raising an eyebrow.

"When we were young, our grandpa made us take Kendo at the local dojo, but I stopped going after a while. Grandpa beat the hell out of me for that…" Kirito sighed.

"That's awful," Silica muttered.

"But his sister stayed with Kendo, and has become quite the known swordswoman at school," Ion spoke up.

"You know each other IRL?" Silica asked, looking between Ion and Kirito.

"Ion here is the only one who can give her a hard time in practice. Sometimes their P.E teachers would break out some Kendo kit, and they have a little tournament, it's always Ion and Sugu to make it to the final match, and it's never a clear winner," Kirito smirked. Then it disappeared, "She probably hates me for dropping Kendo."

"No. She doesn't," Ion said. "Your sister, or cousin, or whatever… she loves kendo, take it from the guy who has the most fun in a sword fight with her."

"Yeah, if she's still doing it to this day, that probably accounts for something at least," Silica smiled.

"There you both go again, cheering me up," Kirito chuckled.

"Ok! I'm going to do my best too!" Silica said, pumped up. One step forward however triggered a trap, a large tubular monster appeared out of the ground, snaring Silica up. Kirito was quick to act. Sword drawn, he cut through the monster and it shattered quickly.

Silica flopped to the ground, and whined. She smiled weakly up at Kirito, but then remembered she was wearing a skirt, and straightened it out.

"That's the twenty-third time…" Ion muttered behind her.

"Shut up Ion, it's not my fault," Silica whined.

Kirito chuckled at the two tamer's antics, "Come on you two," he said, sheathing his sword.

* * *

The three continued along the route, Kirito often stunning monsters and switching, allowing Silica and Ion to gain the EXP. Ion also revealed his strength, taking out another of the monsters which tried to grab Silica by the ankles again.

Ion noticed the forest closing ahead, "looks like we're almost there," He observed.

"Is that reviving flower around here?" Silica asked, looking around.

"Yup, you can see the pedestal just over this hill," Kirito nodded. Silica was already moving, and sprinted ahead. Ion chuckled at her eagerness, but calmly walked on with Kirito.

When the boys caught her, she was staring numbly at a beautiful flower that looked like it was from another world. Ion pushed Silica a tiny bit, and she came out of her trance. "Go ahead, pick it up," he reminded her.

"Oh! Right," Silica giggled, gently plucking the flower from the pedestal. A window popped up, saying 'Retrieved: Pneuma Flower'.

"Back to town?" Ion asked, looking at Kirito.

"Yeah, there's a bunch of strong monsters between here and town, so let's revive her back at the inn," Kirito nodded.

* * *

The route back was easier than the way there. By the time they were back at the bridge on the boundaries of town, they were equally laughing at their accomplishment.

That was when Kirito held a hand out before his charges. "Whoever's hiding, come out, _now_."

A chill went up Ion's spine, when Rosalia walked out from behind a tree.

"If you saw through my hiding skill, then your detection skill must be really high swordsman," She commented. Her eyes darted over to Silica, "It seems you got your hands on the Pneuma Flower. Congratulations."

Her expression then changed drastically. "Now. Hand it over before someone gets hurt!" She ordered.

"What are you…?" Ion asked.

"No one will be handing over anything, Rosalia. Or should I call you Leader of the orange guild, Titan's Hand?" Kirito stated.

Rosalia stopped, "Nice…!" She smirked.

"Her cursor is green though!" Silica noted.

"It's a common trick, the green players scout parties and lead the good ones to where the orange members are lying in wait," Kirito explained. "That was one of your lackeys eavesdropping last night, wasn't it?"

"Then… the reason we were in the same party for two weeks was…!" Silica gasped.

"How perceptive of you, I was checking out their skill, and watching them rake in all that beautiful money," Rosalia smirked. "You two were the ones I was looking forward to the most, but when you ran off, I was so disappointed. Then you went and blabbed about getting a rare item!"

Her eyes went to Kirito, "You knew this and brought them anyway, are you an idiot? Or were you using them as bait?" She asked.

"You're wrong on both guesses," Kirito closed his eyes. "I've been looking for you, Rosalia."

"What are you talking about?" The red-haired woman asked.

"Ten days ago, you attacked a guild called 'Silver Flags'. Four died, the leader was the only survivor," Kirito reminded her.

"Oh… The losers with no money," Rosalia recounted.

"The leader went from the warp gate to the frontlines, morning 'til night, begging for someone to avenge his fallen comrades," Kirito continued. "But he didn't want you killed, he wanted you to stand for your sins in prison. Can you understand how he felt?"

Ion gave a glare now at the woman before them, "No. I can't say that I do. What kind of idiot would actually believe that if you die here, you die IRL? There's no proof of any deaths," She shrugged. "Besides, shouldn't you be more concerned about yourselves?"

With a snap of her fingers, seven thugs emerged from the treeline, all in scruffy clothing and armed with a mix of swords, axes and daggers.

"Kirito? What's the plan here?" Ion asked.

"Don't worry, until I tell you to run, just stay here and watch," Kirito told them. With that, he began to walk towards the enemy group.

"Kirito!" Silica cried out with worry.

One of the thugs seemed to recognize the name, "Kirito? Dressed in black, one-handed sword, no shield…! Holy crap, it's the Black Swordsman!" he gasped. "Rosalia, this is the guy who solos on the frontlines! He's with the assault team!"

Ion gasped, "Kirito is the Black Swordsman?" He asked.

"Why would someone from the assault team be all the way down here?" Rosalia smirked. "Kill him! And take what he owns!"

All the thugs charged up sword skills, and ran at Kirito with warcries.

As this happened, Ion pulled out his teleport crystal, and whispered a few words. Rosalia snarled as he vanished in a blue glow.

Kirito didn't move while this happened, but he was wondering what Ion was up to. He got his answer when he saw a blur of white emerge from the town.

"Titan's Hand! Surrender!" Everyone turned, seeing Ion standing with his Estoc pointed to Rosalia's neck, her spear in his other hand.

One was about to move, "Come any closer and she's done for," Ion growled, bringing the blade closer. Aurora was on the ground, and was snarling at the thugs with fangs visible.

"How didn't we hurt this one? We poured everything we had into that, how's he still standing?" Asked another.

"Because I'm level 78, with 14, 500 HP. My Battle Healing skill regenerates six hundred HP every ten seconds. And you lot dish out four hundred in that time, give or take a bit," Kirito explained, casually walking towards Rosalia.

"We could stand here all day, and we wouldn't be going anywhere," He said.

Silica watched the two swordsmen, Kirito was strong, incredibly so. There was a reason why he was on the frontlines. Then she looked at Ion, seeing how tactical he could be in a situation like this.

Kirito held up a large crystal, "My client spent his entire fortune on this warp crystal, it's set to the coordinates of the prison, and I'm sending all of you bastards there!" He spat.

"Well I'm green! And if you hurt me you'll go orange-!" Rosalia yelled.

Ion moved away his blade, and Kirito's was suddenly there a moment later. "I'm a solo player, got it? If I have to be orange for a few days, so be it," He said, then leaned closer. "Same goes for red."

Rosalia surrendered rather quickly after that, and the eight players slumped through the warp gate Kirito opened.

The three then walked back to the teleport gate, and returned to Floor thirty-five.

* * *

Kirito sighed, the three sat on the bed in one room of the inn.

"I'm sorry you two, this whole time, I was using you to lure out that witch, and throw her behind bars," He sighed.

"While I wish you had just told us the truth, I'm glad for the adventure today," Ion grinned.

"Yeah! It's ok, because I knew you would protect us from harm," Silica agreed.

Aurora climbed onto the Black Swordsman's lap, and licked his face, "I think Aurora thinks the same way," Ion chuckled.

"Do you need to go so soon?" Silica asked.

"Yeah… I've been away from the frontlines for a week now, I should probably get back," Kirito nodded.

"I think the frontlines are really cool," Silica smiled.

"Yeah, you think we could make it one day?" Ion asked.

"Sure you can, we're up to floor fifty-five at the moment. If you work hard enough, you can do anything you put your mind to," Kirito assured them.

He cleared his throat, "how about we revive Pina now?" He asked.

"Good idea, I think Aurora has missed her for too long now," Ion nodded, his familiar yapped in response.

Silica stood up, and brought out Pina's Soul, setting the feather on the table, then the Pneuma Flower. With care, she held the flower above her familiar's remains, and let a drop of dew fall off the petals and onto the feather. A bright golden glow shone throughout the room.

Ion put a hand on Silica's head, as they watched the reviving take place, "We did it. Pina, when you get back, boy have we got a story to tell you," Silica grinned.

* * *

The next morning, Ion and Silica walked with Kirito to the Teleport gate, "So, we'll meet again one day," Ion smiled. Kirito nodded, and opened his menu. Ion saw a window appear before him. 'Kirito wants you to be their friend. Accept?' Ion did so, without a second thought. He also sent one to Silica, who had Pina on her head like she used to. The girl also accepted quickly.

Ion held out his fist to his friend, "Take what you can," He smirked.

Kirito gave a similar smirk, "Give nothing back," he bumped the fist.

Ion stepped back, and allowed Kirito to stand on the gate alone, "teleport! Algade!"

A sphere of light slowly enveloped him. "Take care of each other," he smiled, before vanished.

Once he had gone, Ion turned to Silica, "Let's work hard, and catch up to the frontlines."

"Yeah, I feel like me and Pina would be such a helpful team to the Assault Team!" She nodded.

* * *

 **Emma: You're proving to be a good duo.**

 **Ion: Meh, two tamers are bound to be a good group.**

 **Silica: Yeah! Don't forget Aurora and Pina too!**

 **Kirito: What next?**

 **Ion: I've got something in mind.**

 **All: Next time: Daughter of Darkness**


	5. Chapter 5: Daughter of Darkness

**Time for another original chapter! At the end of the last chapter, I was thinking that if Ion and Silica aren't joining Kirito straight away, then they wouldn't really be needed for the Murder Mysteries episodes.**

 **So, instead, I've decided I'm going to do something different for this one, and the next chapter as well!**

 **First off though is chapter 5! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Daughter of Darkness**

 **Title Song: Angel of Darkness by Alex C. (feat Yasmin K.)**

* * *

March 1st 2024

Floor 10: Trail of Honor

* * *

Laughter echoed through the darkness of night, coming from an old styled Japanese building in a gloomy forest.

"Did you see the look on their faces when we jumped out around them? Priceless!" A player laughed. He held a drink up, "When they found out you weren't a member of the KoB, I had to stop myself from dying of laughter."

"You know Jack, it would do you good to lay low for a while, I heard a rumor of a bounty hunter down in town," another player said.

"Ah, what are they gonna do? Take me in? Whoever this Bounty Hunter is… I doubt they have the skill to take on Hyperion," 'Jack' shrugged off the concern.

"Boss!" a player ran in. Jack looked at him, "We got trouble-!" A spear shot through his shoulder the moment he finished his words, pinning him to the wall. Everyone paused what they were doing, as a lone figure walked into the room, and claimed their spear from the wall, while punching the player in the face.

"Hey… whoa whoa whoa! You don't just saunter in here and knock out one of my men! Who the hell are you?!" Jack demanded.

"Handsome Jack. Wanted for rape, thefts, murders, literally, the most jail-able offenses in the game," the figure said, revealing they were a female. She was wearing a black jacket with a purple hood that covered her eyes. Under that was a purple shirt that stopped at her navel. She was also wearing a pair of tight black pants and high black boots, and a pair of purple gloves were on her hands.

Her spear was one of black metal, with red details on the blade, shaft and handgrips, and she twirled it around, before she pointed it at Jack.

"Either you come peacefully, with your adorable little posse giving up as well, or I start killing your men until you do," She said.

"Ok sweetheart, I give in, come and put me in chains," Jack shrugged, and offered his wrists for her.

The girl didn't move, until she stabbed her spear into the ground, then kicked off the ground and smashed her boot into a Hyperion member that had tried to sneak up on her.

"For that, we'll do this your way," she said, and clubbed him in the face with the blunt end of her weapon.

"Get her!" Jack yelled, before two of his men ran at her, weapons drawn.

The girl still didn't move until they got close, her hand lighting up, before she delivered a huge backhand that sent the two crashing into other players.

"My name is Angel, and I've come to collect a bounty," she introduced herself. Gripping her spear, it lit up a vibrant green, before she lunged at one member. Just before skewering him and two behind him with her long weapon, she halted the skill, then spun it around to clobber all three with the shaft instead.

A female Hyperion player rushed at her, an axe in her hand, but Angel ducked under the skill, before she delivered a massive elbow to the gut, disarming the woman and knocking her into several boxes.

Jack growled, "Get her Wilhelm!" he yelled, getting the attention of a massive player.

"Understood," He rumbled, before drawing a huge shield and a mace.

"Bigger isn't always better," Angel muttered, taking her spear and vaulting over the mountain of a player and kicking him in the coconuts from behind.

Ignoring him as he collapsed in agony, she turned her attention to Jack himself, who was drawing a short sword in preparation, but he was backing up slowly.

"Hey boss? I feel like I've seen this chick before... dressed in black and purple... massive spear... it's gotta be her! That's Angel! Daughter of Darkness!" A thug groaned from where he was lying in the dirt.

"Not so tough without your crew, are you?" Angel asked, casually knocking aside another thug with a thwack from the blunt end of her weapon.

"Don't come any closer!" Jack warned, reaching behind a box, he pulled out a girl who was in nothing but a skimpy bikini.

Angel stopped advancing, "Let her go," she said. " _Now._ "

Jack grinned, "no deal, you let me go to the teleport gate without trouble, then I'm free to go, otherwise…" He finished his sentence by taking his sword and cutting slightly into the girl's neck.

Angel sighed, and lifted her spear above her shoulder. Jack gave a smirk, and glanced behind him, moving towards an exit. He heard a hum, and looked back, just in time to see Angel throw her spear at him, slicing straight through his sword arm and separating it from his body.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough," Angel chuckled, then her expression turned to a scowl. " _Let. Her. Go. Now!"_

Jack did so, fear taking over his body, "Ok! Ok! I'll let her go! Please don't kill me!" He whined.

"I'm a bounty hunter, what kind of hunter kills the target who is wanted alive?" Angel deadpanned.

She walked up to Jack, and grabbed him by the neck, she then turned to his former hostage, "Is she your only slave?" She asked.

"He kept the rest of us in the next room," the girl spoke up.

"Thanks, hey, you want to put his lights out?" Angel asked her.

"Gladly!" The girl grinned, and spun around, kicking him square in the face.

Once he was knocked out, Angel opened her menu, and sent a message to her friend Asuna, who was a high-ranking officer in the KoB. 'Took care of that job you asked me to do, could do with some Frontliners to come and clean up'.

A message came back a moment later, 'Should be there in a few minutes'. Angel turned to the girl, "Here," she said, switching to the trade window and tossing over some basic clothes.

"Thanks, can we go help the others?" She asked.

"We'll have to wait for the clean-up crew to arrive first, I don't want these guys waking up and making a run for it, you mind taking this rope and binding their arms and legs?" Angel asked, manifesting a large coil of said rope.

"Sure, I can do that," she smiled. Angel took another coil, and tied up some of the thugs, and Jack himself.

* * *

She just finished the knot on the last one when she heard multiple footsteps approaching. Looking up, she saw a bunch of guys in red, as well as several players of the KoB.

"You the clean-up team?" She asked.

"Sure are, name's Klein," one of the guys in red nodded, he looked in his mid-twenties, and was decked up in Samurai themed armor. A bandana was wrapped around his head, with four small diamonds on it. "My guys are the ones in red, we're the Furinkazan guild."

He then gave a smirk, "You know, if you can beat an entire orange guild by yourself, then how about I treat you to dinner tonight? My treat?" He asked.

"Sorry, not interested, besides, this is hardly the place, or time, to be flirting," Angel shot him down. "There are several servants in the other room, can I ask you to help me with getting them out of here?"

"S-sure! No problem," Klein nodded, then turned to the group. "Dynamm, Issin! Come with us to secure the back room!" He called.

Two of his members walked over, one armed with a small sword and buckler, and the other with a two-pronged polearm. Angel turned to the girl she had saved before, "We need you to take us to the others, can you do that?" She asked.

The girl nodded, and led the way through a doorway. Across the room was a bunch of large cages, in which were four or five girls of different age, but all were under the age of twenty.

"Miki! You're ok!" A girl called.

"Who are those people behind you?" Asked another.

"This girl took out Hyperion, and these kind men are from the Frontlines, they've come to get you out of there," Miki explained.

"You beat Jack and his gang?" A girl asked.

Angel gave a small chuckle, "Let's get you out of here," she said. Klein pointed at Dynamm, who got on his knees and pulled out a lockpick and a dagger, working with an iron gate with a lock. Angel did the same with the other cage, rotating the pick and checking the resistance of the lock until it started moving around smoothly.

 _Click!_ She smirked, as the cage door opened out, and the girls walked out. Angel noticed they were all wearing rather revealing outfits, showing more skin than what was at all necessary.

"You guys got any spare clothes for them?" she asked the men.

"For the teens, yeah, but I don't think they'll work for her," Issin shrugged, pointing at a girl who couldn't have been older than ten years old.

"I got a cloak," Klein said, scrolling through his menu and finding the item of clothing and summoning it. It was red and white, which made Angel suspect they had commissioned custom cloaks for their guild on the colder floors and dungeons.

Klein walked over to the small girl, and got onto one knee, "Here, it'll keep you warm kid," he said, gently wrapping it around her thin body.

"Thank you…" She mumbled, straightening it out for her. "It's big," she commented.

"Well yeah, it's mine after all, but you can have it until we find you some proper clothing, ok?" Klein rubbed her hair.

* * *

 **Floor Fifty-five: Grandzam**

* * *

The teleport gate of Grandzam lit up and Angel stepped off it, with some of the girls and Jack over her shoulder.

Asuna was standing nearby, with two other Knights of the Blood Oath players flanking her. Angel walked over to her, "Here, take this waste of space out of my custody, and put him behind some bars," she said, dropping Jack on the ground.

"You've done Aincrad a great service like always Angel," Asuna said, and opened her menu.

"If you ever need anyone else hunted, the Daughter of Darkness will always answer your call," Angel held a hand out.

"There. One hundred thousand col, like promised," Asuna manifested a massive bag of col, and Angel took it in her left hand. Asuna then shook her right one.

Angel smirked, and added the money to her inventory. She then waved over the rescued girls. "These three were his 'favorites'. They've been stuck there since the frontlines were on floor twenty-seven, I was hoping you could help them get used to freedom again, and maybe get their levels up a bit."

"I understand. I'll take them to see the Commander, and see about instating them as temporary Knights," Asuna nodded.

"Thanks, Asuna. Now, I'd better get going, I'm behind schedule," Angel pointed to the gate behind her.

"You got it, thanks again for hunting down this one," Asuna smiled, she then drew her rapier, and slashed his leg bindings. "Start walking, scum," she ordered.

Angel would have felt sorry for him, had she not been the one to hear about his crimes, "He'll be behind bars for a while, and it won't be NPCs watching over him," she smirked, and headed back to the teleport gate.

Standing straight, she made a command, "Teleport: Town of Beginnings!"

* * *

"Gin! Mina! Stop fighting over such silly things!" A woman sighed, pushing apart the two. "Honestly, can you two go one day without making trouble?" A loud knock came from the door, in a certain pattern.

The woman went to answer it, to see Angel with her hood down, allowing her long blonde hair to flow freely behind her.

"Hey Sasha," she smiled.

"Angel, good to see you!" Sasha gave her guest a brief hug, then invited her in.

"Angel's here?" A kid asked.

"It's big sister Angel!" Another giggled.

The two were quickly surrounded by kids, but they were focused on Angel.

"You little nuggets been good for Sasha?" She asked.

"You wish! Most of them are fine, but Gin and Mina keep fighting," Sasha sighed.

"Then I guess they aren't getting a gift this time then," Angel smirked, opening her menu and allowing a box to appear.

The kids all cheered, "This one's for you… and for you… and for you," Angel said, handing one gift to each of them.

"What are they big sis?" a kid asked.

"Accessories, I've been working on my jeweler's skill a bit, and I managed to craft these for each of you," Angel said, she paused to admire her work. The gemstone varied from sapphires to rubies, diamonds to pearls.

"Boys, yours is a cool armband, and girls, I made a necklace for each of you," She said. The kids each put their accessory on, and marveled at how they looked. Angel put down the box, and pulled out the last one.

"Here Sasha, for all the hard work you put into this place," she smiled, handing a golden necklace to her, with an emerald hanging from it.

"I couldn't, this is for them!" She protested, but Angel pushed it into her hand.

"Take it, I would feel bad if you didn't, I made it for you," she insisted.

Sasha sighed, and equipped the necklace, "It's beautiful, thank you," she beamed.

Angel laughed, "No, thank _you_. This place is the reason why I go out there every day and rope in the bad guys," she shook the thanks off.

* * *

Angel stayed for a bit, playing with the kids with their children's games, like tag and hide and seek. (She usually won the latter because both her hiding and detection skills were much higher than the kids).

Eventually though, she decided she should get going, standing at the door, she smiled at the kids and their caretaker. "You guys all take care of each other, ok?" she told them.

"We will!" every one of them replied. She was about to go when she saw Gin and Mina standing off to the side. Both looked rather upset.

"You two need to take care of each other too, can I count on you guys to keep this place safe while I'm gone?" she asked.

"You bet, Angel!" Gin grinned. Mina nodded in agreement.

"I know I can count on you, but that means you can't go fighting each other! Got it?" Angel chided them.

Both stood to attention, "Yes ma'am!" They giggled.

Angel smirked at their antics, "Right, I'm leaving now," she called, waving to the flock of smiling children.

They all waved back to their heroine. _If only that's what I was…_ She thought silently, as she headed for the center of town. _If you kids knew the blood on my hands… you wouldn't be cheering for me then._

* * *

 **Ion: So, what do you think?**

 **Angel: I'm glad to get my own chapter, and you made me look like a boss in that first segment!**

 **Silica: I sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that beating...**

 **Melody: Me neither!**

 **Ion: Like stated up top, next chapter will also be different!**

 **All: next time: That Empty Feeling...**


	6. Chapter 6: A Tender Feeling

**Boy. Did this one rack my brain or what? I feel like I rushed the start of this chapter... but the second half definitely felt better.**

 **I will admit I got some inspiration from Ren and Alice's get-together in I Will Not Bow Again as well as SAO Hollow Fragment!**

 **The characters of Wyvern's Inferno belong to TheSib, and I highly suggest, that if you haven't already, go and read his tales, I Will Not Bow Again, Blazing Revolution and Blazing Revolution: The lost Stories and Blazing Generations, which all contain the full adventures of Wyvern's Inferno and all their hilarious adventures. In fact, go read all his stuff!**

 **I only own my OCs, TheSib owns his, and neither of us own SAO!**

 **Please read and review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: A Tender Feeling**

 **Title Song: Moonless Night by Vindsvept (Please go listen to his stuff, it's awesome!)**

* * *

May 9th 2024

Floor 34: Menagerie

* * *

Floor Thirty-four was one of those holiday levels. But unlike Floor Twenty-two's lakes or Floor Forty-seven's flower gardens, this floor had something special. The Beach.

A black-haired girl was sat down one of the coastline cafés, watching the multitude of players enjoying a day together with friends. She was dressed up in the colors of her guild, red and black. She was wearing a two-strapped red combat dress with black frills at the bottom along with a black leather belt collar strapped around her neck. Her boots were black, along with the leggings that she wore. Her weapon was leaned against her chair. It was a more… rare choice of weapon, a scythe.

"Alice!" The girl turned her head to the hail, and spotted Angel approaching. The girl in black and purple pulled up a chair and sat down opposite her. "Thanks for meeting with me on short notice."

She called up a menu, and selected an iced tea. A moment later, a waitress came outside, and put her drink down on the table

"No problem, always happy to help a friend," Alice smiled. "How can I help?"

Alice was a member of Wyvern's Inferno, one of the Assault Team's most valuable small guilds. During the early days of SAO, she used to use a katana, but after a chance monster drop, she started using the scythe she had with her now, called Twin Ripper. Angel met her now and then when she joined the frontlines for boss raids and mapping expeditions.

"I need advice…" She sighed, with reluctance. "Boy advice. I would have gone to Asuna, but I hear she can be... eccentric when it comes to matters of the heart."

Alice giggled, "Go on…" she teased.

"When we first met… I guess it was 'love at first sight'. But I'm worried that he's completely out of my league," Angel said.

A certain raven-haired teen armed with an estoc came to Angel's mind. "It's Ion, isn't it?" She played along.

Angel was taking a sip of her drink, but spat it out when she heard the question, "How did you know?"

"I didn't, but you just confirmed it," Alice gave a victorious smirk. "Anyway, how often do you see him?"

"Not every day, but frequent, I saw him when he and Silica joined the frontlines, and I see him here and there… but I get all flustered around him," Angel said, then took a sip of her drink.

"I get it, before me and Ren got together, I was often feeling a rush and my heartbeat increasing, at first I just chalked it up to Adrenaline because of him saving me from an attack," Alice blushed.

Angel shrugged, "Do you have advice or not? I came to you because I heard from someone that you're good at matchmaking. Not as much as Asuna, but you have a soul for the romantics."

Alice made a mental note to meet Argo the Rat after she was done here, "Well, I guess the most obvious thing to do would be to get to know him more, discover his interests, his hobbies, and maybe ask him to join you for a hunt or something."

Angel pondered her advice for a moment, drinking more of her iced tea. Putting it back down with a small clatter, she nodded. "That's good advice, thanks Alice," she said, giving her a fist.

"Anytime, anywhere, message me if you ever need any more advice," Alice shrugged, knocking her own fist against it. Angel stood up, and departed for the teleport gate.

Alice watched her go, and giggled, _Ion, I swear, if you don't see she's head over heels for you, so help me I'll…_ And she started concocting all sorts of ways to make him feel sorry with a small giggle.

* * *

Floor 50: Algade

* * *

Algade was the most popular city on the upper floors. Being halfway up Aincrad, it meant a huge milestone for the Assault Team, meaning they were halfway home.

Down in a corner of the town was a small corner shop, buried in the back streets, at a first glance, one might picture the place as a shady little black market. However, the owner was a big help to the frontlines.

"Welcome to Agil's General Goods! How can I help ya?" A mountain of a man boomed, as a customer walked into the store.

"I'd like to see about doing some business," the player said. He was a brown-haired boy wearing a crimson red coat with black trimmings running down the edges. Dark, bloody red boots were equipped to his feet and his pants were a jet-black color. He also had brown fingerless gloves and he had a one-handed sword sheathed diagonally across his back.

"Long time no see Ren, what can I do for you?" Agil smirked, holding out a fist.

"Just business like usual, Agil," Ren chuckled, bumping his own with the big man.

Ren was the leader of the six-man guild, Wyvern's Inferno. They worked hard on the frontlines with the Assault Team, and were invaluable to the clearing effort. Ren himself was one of the greatest minds in the Frontlines, period. He was often the one to come up with the strategies that beat the floor bosses and allowed them to progress one floor further.

Ren opened his menu, and pinged Agil with a trade request, sending across all the drops that his guild had obtained during their hunting trips.

As he did, he heard a player walk in behind him. "Now here's a face I'm glad to see," the player grinned.

Ren turned his head at the greeting, and came face to face with Ion. "Ion, good to see you," he nodded, holding out a hand.

"Likewise, man. Catch up once we're done here with business?" He asked.

"Come on, am I that intimidating that you won't stick around and share stories?" Agil asked from behind Ren.

"Alright then," Ion shrugged.

Ren finished his trade, then Ion passed over the wares he had to sell to the merchant.

"I'll close up for a bit, come in back," Agil said, pointing to the door behind him.

* * *

"Wow, Helios is a pain in the ass as ever," Ion chuckled as Ren finished a story of Helios harassing a blacksmith on the mid-floors, _again_.

"Yep, that's gonna come back and bite him up the butt one day," Ren sighed.

"You know, I swear that Helios and Dagger are both as bad as each other, she always tries to haggle with me, and he can threaten if he doesn't get a good deal," Agil grumbled. "I usually have to scare the two off the old-fashioned way." He pointed to the humungous axe resting against the wall.

"Sorry about that," Ren chuckled. He looked over to Ion, who had a thoughtful look glazed over his face. "What's up man?"

"I was wondering if I could have some advice from either of you," He sighed. "Girl advice."

Agil burst out laughing, "Man, the Arctic Swordsman finally got some love issues? Who's the lucky lady?"

"It's… Angel," Ion muttered.

Both of his friends chuckled, "She's a keeper alright," Ren smirked.

"I'm worried about her, her line of work is dangerous and I'm afraid she's going to get herself killed one day," Ion told them.

"Well, in my experience with Alice, we went on an expedition down on Floor thirty when we fell into an anti-crystal area. Believe me, it was one awkward time," Ren said.

"I'll bet, those dungeons were freezing man," Agil nodded. He looked over to Ion, "I met my missus in another game, she used to live in the US, and we fell for each other, hard. A year later, she was runnin' my bar with me."

"If you ask me, it might be best if you try and get her alone and tell her what you feel," Ren said. "I did that with Alice, and look where we are now."

Ion nodded, the two were inseparable, and Ren nearly always dared to put his life on the line in boss fights if Alice, or any of his guild were in trouble.

Finishing the mug of simple tea that Agil had brewed up, he stood up. "Right, thanks for the advice guys, I'll message you if I need any more help with love."

* * *

May 10th 2024

Floor 50: Algade

* * *

"You sure you want to tag along? I know you hate astral type monsters," Ion asked. Aurora was sleeping lightly in his lap, and he stroked her fur with a brush.

"Um… maybe I should skip this one out…" Silica muttered, feeling a shiver crawl up her spine. "Stupid ghosts…"

As she and Pina left, Ion gave a chuckle. He was sitting on a bench near the bulletin board by the Teleport gate in the center of town, waiting for his target to show up. Aurora made a noise, having woken up, and was looking at the teleport gate, which just cooled down after a player warped in.

Sure enough, the blonde spear user walked up to the board, and started to examine every notice put there.

Ion stood up and walked over, "See anything you like?" He asked, stopping right behind her.

"Ion?! Geez! Don't sneak up on a girl like that!" Angel yelped. She shook her head, "No, no scumbag wanted posters up there today," she replied.

"Then why don't you team up with me, I have a quest I need done, but Silica despises astral type monsters, so she decided to skip out," Ion said. Truth be told, he had picked the quest _because_ it had ghosts.

"I'm not a massive fan of them either you know," Angel told him.

"It's ok, if it proves too much, I'll play forward for you," Ion assured her. "And if you don't like it, you can snuggle with Aurora when we get back."

"Fine, I'll team up with you, it's been a while since our last expedition, what with you being a frontliner, and I'm a bounty hunter," Angel smiled.

Ion smirked, step one complete, invite Angel along. "Right, onto the gate then, come on Aurora!" he said, sending Angel an invite, the little ice wolf bounded over to him, and clambered up onto his shoulder with ease.

She accepted, "Where are we going?" She asked.

Ion answered, "Teleport: Lavender!"

* * *

Floor 19: Silent Hill

* * *

Angel shivered involuntarily as the two walked through the silent forest. No sound of the wind, not even the monsters were making their inviting growls and moans.

"You sure you're doing ok?" Ion asked for the seventeenth time, the floor itself wasn't too hard. But he knew the dungeon could be tricky by himself, and the quest he had accepted required two players to be completed.

"I've been better," Angel told him. Her detection skill then gave her a warning, and she rotated, drawing her spear and blocking a blade that had jumped out of nowhere.

Ion had heard the clang of weapons, and drew his own blade to assist. A ragged cloak with a face and a scythe was floating before them. "A reaper themed monster," he muttered.

The monster, a Dark Scythe, swung it's namesake at the two. Ion rolled right while Angel deflected the blade with the shaft of her spear.

As she kept it busy, Ion charged up Neutron, and thrust four times into the back of the monster. Since it was floor nineteen, the monsters were much weaker than them, so the first three hits were all that were needed. Ion canceled the rest of his skill, and sheathed his sword.

"You ok?" He asked.

"A tiny bit spooked, but I can manage," Angel admitted, after they made sure their HP was at maximum, they pressed on.

* * *

The dungeons of Floor Nineteen were… eerie. Sometimes it was weathered ruins, others it was a haunted house. The dungeon that Ion's quest was in... was the latter.

Angel flinched as she heard one of the dungeon effects, a creaking door, in the distance.

"Watch your step, I heard these places have all sorts of traps, like pitfalls, rotating walls and dart traps," Ion alerted. Aurora clambered up onto his shoulder, believing she might trigger something like those.

"Ah, I've never seen any-!" Angel started, but as she said this, the floor beneath her foot gave way.

Ion whirled around, spotting her start to fall, "Angel!" He yelled, grabbing her arm. Aurora yelped at the sight of her master's party member in distress.

"Let me go! I'll only take you with me!" She called up.

"Not on your life! I care for you Angel! I'm not about to let you go, knowing you could die!" Ion told her.

Angel paused, running that past her again, _I care for you Angel!_ Her cheeks began to flush slightly.

Ion's feet were starting to slip on the wood, then the floor he was standing on gave way as well!

The estoc user's eyes widened, "No…!" He gasped, before the three of them plummeted into the abyss with a yell, Aurora's howl echoing as they vanished from sight.

* * *

Ion didn't know how long they'd been falling, but he knew it had to end eventually. Soon, the tunnel opened up, and Ion, expecting a hard surface, was surprised when they both splashed heavily into a body of water.

The two swam to the surface, and took a deep breath, "Man! That was utterly terrifying!" He gasped. Aurora popped up next to him from below.

"I'll say, we must have fallen for at least two minutes!" Angel spluttered.

Ion looked around the cavern, and spotted what looked like dry land at one side of the lake.

"Come on," he said, and began to swim for the shore with his pet right behind him. Angel followed without a word.

The three dragged themselves out of the water and onto the beach-like area, Ion panted heavily, rolling onto his back.

"Not even with Silica have my adventures ever been this interesting," He chuckled, as Aurora shook herself down.

"My hunts can be fun sometimes, but this takes the biscuit I think," Angel giggled.

Ion pulled out a crystal, "Please don't be…" He begged, "Teleport: Algade!" Nothing happened. " _Damnit!_ " Ion growled, almost throwing the item into the lake.

"An anti-crystal zone? Just what we needed…" Angel muttered.

Ion glanced down at his clothes, "Sheesh, our gear is soaked, we should probably dry ourselves off before we press on," he sighed.

Angel gave a vibrant blush, "Y-yeah…!" She spluttered.

Ion spotted her reddening face, "I'll go behind that rock, and put on a towel," he said. "Do not worry, I have standards, I will not peek. Swordsman's honor."

Angel nodded at his words, and opened her menu, removing her armor as he did so. Then, she equipped a towel of her own, and wrapped herself up in it.

"Are you decent?" Ion called.

"As well as I'll ever be," Angel nodded.

Ion went back into his inventory, and pulled out a tent kit. It was a reusable item that could deploy a small two-man tent for as long as needed.

As he put up the tent, Angel went into her own inventory and summoned some firewood, which could light a healthy flame and keep players warm and comfortable.

The two then sat down in the opening to the tent, with Aurora curled up between them. Neither knew what to say really. Here they were, two people who only knew each other because of their scenario in nothing but bath towels.

Angel soon broke the silence. "Back up there… did you mean what you said? About you caring for me?" She asked.

"Of course I did. You're a special person Angel, not many people have the heart to go out every day and catch the crooks," Ion smiled.

"But…. I'm not special," Angel sighed. "We're in a virtual world, even if I put every bad guy behind bars, it won't amount to anything, they'll just wake up in whatever hospital they've been sent to."

"It will make our lives a lot easier not having to look over our shoulders to make sure no one will gut us from behind," Ion put a hand on her shoulder.

They returned to silence, watching the dancing flames before them.

"Ion… since you came into this world… have you… killed someone?" Angel asked.

Ion glanced at her, unsure why she would ask this, "No, I can't say that I have, why?" He asked.

"When I was a little girl… I was walking home from school one evening when a man jumped me from an alley," Angel muttered. Ion noticed her voice was shaking a bit now. "He tried to hurt me, rob me… he had a knife."

Ion's eyes widened, and Aurora glanced up at the blonde.

"He tried to take off my shirt, so I bit him… while he yelled in pain, I grabbed the knife, and held it out in front of me," She said. "He was mad, he was going to kill me. He grabbed my hands, tried to wrestle the knife out of my hands… then it was all reflex… my arms stretched out… and the knife ended up in his chest."

She wrapped her arms around herself. "He died, there and then… I killed a man, when I was just six years old."

Ion's eyes closed, as the girl beside him started sobbing.

"If you choose to hate me because of the blood on my hands, then go ahead… I won't blame you," she muttered between her sobs.

She was therefore both surprised, and embarrassed, when Ion wrapped his arms around her neck, and pulled her in to a hug.

"It's ok… people can react in all sorts of different ways to bloodshed, some take it in stride, others feel indifferent, then there are my favorite, the ones who have tales similar to you," he said.

"Ion…" Angel mumbled.

"You had three options, you could have run for your life the moment you had a chance. You could have let him violate you, or you could have killed him," Ion listed.

"You made the most human choice of those three, it's basic human survivor instincts," He went on. Angel's eyes widened at his words.

"If it makes you feel any better, I would have done the exact same thing if I had been in your shoes," He smiled.

Angel turned to look at him with tearful eyes. Ion took his thumb, and gently wiped them away. "Don't cry, tears get in the way of your pretty face," He told her.

Angel's face flushed, "Um… Ion?" She asked. Ion then remembered their situation, and pulled himself away from her.

"S-sorry, I, uh, thought you might want some comfort. H-here, have a puppy instead, they're good comforting material!" He stuttered, picking up Aurora and putting her in Angel's lap. The ice wolf puppy looked up at her with a tilted face, and stood up on her two hind paws and licked her face before she fell backwards onto her little butt. Both couldn't help but laugh at the strangeness of the little hound.

Ion looked up at the girl, who had a smile on her face. _Well, I guess here is as good a place as ever_.

At the same time, Angel's eyes glanced at Ion. _Nerves don't fail me now_.

"Angel/Ion… there's something I want to tell you… no… you first…" They both said in unison.

"You first," Ion chuckled.

"Would you ever love a girl that has sinned in her past?" She asked. "Would you ever love… me?"

Ion blinked once, twice, three times, four times. Then he gave a disbelieving laugh.

Angel's head drooped. "Would you ever love a thrill seeker who can't get enough adventure?" She heard Ion ask. "Would you ever love me?"

Angel looked up again, and blinked once, twice, three times. Then she giggled.

"I think I would… if you would let me," they both said, before leaning into each other and feeling their lips connect.

They could have stayed like that forever, but Ion broke the kiss, as he noticed two things. Again, they were still in nothing but their birthday suits and a bath towel, and Aurora was somehow covering her eyes with her forepaws.

"I think she may not be a fan of romance," He chuckled.

"It would seem so," Angel nodded.

Ion sighed, and checked his clock. "It's getting late, I'm feeling dry now, you?" He asked.

"Same here, shall we see if our gear has finished the dry cooldown?" Angel asked.

Ion walked back behind the rock, while Angel slipped into the tent. Ion breathed with relief as he felt his dry jacket, shirt and pants materialize on his body.

"I'm good, you?" He asked.

"Same here," Angel nodded.

The two summoned their bedrolls, and rolled them out inside the tent, and Ion then materialized a small basket which he put at the end of his, then he put a blanket into it, and Aurora jumped into the improvised bed, curled up and went to sleep. Ion and Angel both decided to follow the dog's lead, getting into their sleeping bags and falling asleep.

* * *

Angel opened her eyes the next morning to find Ion's bedroll open and her companion missing? It was then she remembered the events of last night, and how they became a couple. _I guess I should start calling him my boyfriend?_ She thought with a blush.

"Ion?" She asked, stepping outside the tent. Ion was sat by the fire, a small bread roll in his hand.

"Morning," He smiled, handing another bread roll to her. "Have a nice sleep?"

"Actually… yeah, it was one of the best I've ever had since logging in!" Angel stretched her back, before sitting down next to him and digging in.

Between mouthfuls, Ion looked over to her, "So… about last night… are we a thing now? Or what?" He asked.

Angel looked hurt, "idiot, of course we are!" she sighed.

"Sorry, I'm new to this weird emotion… how about we take it slow together?" He asked.

Angel gave a blush, "Sure, slow and steady."

Ion pointed behind him, to where a light was coming from a tunnel. "I did a bit of scouting before you woke up, this whole cave is a safe zone, but I didn't leave yet until you woke up," he said.

The two finished their breakfast, and packed up their campsite. Holding hands, the two walked out of the cave, squinting at the morning sun. When they could see, they couldn't believe their eyes.

A beautiful tree with golden leaves and red fruit shone in the sunlight on a small island, Ion and Angel saw a massive lake surrounding it, and a bridge connected the main land to the heavenly sight.

"Where are we by the way?" Angel asked. Ion opened his menu, and went to the map. He almost choked at what he saw.

"We're on floor eighteen, in the south-west corner," he said, then looked up at the floor above them.

"That drop took us down an entire floor?!" Angel asked, looking back into the cave.

"Let's remember this place, it can be our little secret," Ion smiled. Then he pulled out a teleport crystal. Angel pulled one out too.

"Teleport! Algade!" They called out, and cheered as they were enveloped in a blue light.

* * *

Floor 50: Algade

* * *

The first thing Ion registered when he stepped off the teleport gate of floor fifty was a flash of red and brown hair.

"Ion!" He heard, before he was tackled to the floor.

Silica was trying to hold back tears but failing as she embraced Ion warmly. "When you disappeared off the map I was so worried! I camped at the Memorial of Swordsmen in the Black Iron Palace, friends list open and looking at your names from dusk 'til dawn."

"I was asked by Thinker to go and fetch the poor girl so she could go and get some sleep," Ion was surprised when Asuna approached them.

"See, told you they'd be fine," another voice said. Ion glanced past Asuna, to see the entirety of Wyvern's Inferno, Kirito, Agil and Klein waving to them.

"Can it Helios, you were worried too," a small girl in red and black smirked.

"Like I'd be worried over such a petty thing, they're back here aren't they?" A massive axe player, not as big as Agil, scoffed.

Kirito walked up, and pulled Silica off, then helped the swordsman to his feet, "You ok?" He asked.

"We've been through worse Kirito," Ion shrugged, then he took Angel's hand and gave them a smile. "But we've never been better!"

Ren and Alice gave a knowing smirk, as did Agil and Asuna, but everyone else seemed a little confused. Ion pulled in his new girlfriend, and pecked her on the cheek.

The girls were delighted, while Kirito, Helios and the other guy of Wyvern's Inferno, Riku pointed at Ion, then at Angel with speechless expressions. Ion glanced down at Silica, "Would you object if Angel were to join our team from here on in?" He asked.

"Not at all! Welcome to the party Angel," Silica smiled warmly.

"I won't let you down," Angel patted the small girl's head. "That's a promise."

* * *

 **Ion: So... what do you guys think?**

 **Silica: Definitely an improvement to the maiden voyage.**

 **Ion: ... what?**

 **Emma: She means the ship, you know, Arctic Angel?**

 **Ion: Oh! Well, I feel dumb.**

 **Angel: Yeah, you are.**

 **Ion: Angel! Back me up here!**

 **Angel: Nah.**

 **All: Next time: Dragonborn**


	7. Chapter 7: Dragonborn

**I feel rather pleased with this chapter, chosing to combine the original tale with my own twist.**

 **Let's see if you guys love it too!**

 **Again, the Wyvern's Inferno characters belong to TheSib, go read his stuff! I only own my OCs!**

 **Read and review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Dragonborn**

 **Title Song: Become a Legend by John Dreamer**

* * *

June 24th 2024

Floor 48: Lindas

* * *

The sound of metal scraping against metal was heard from a cozy building by a river, and a water wheel turned slowly outside.

Inside, a pink haired girl focused on her work, sharpening the blade of a long spear. She took it off the grindstone, and examined her work. "Perfect!" She smiled.

The owner of the spear hopped off the counter, and walked over with a handful of col. "Thank you for this," She smiled, her blonde hair shining. "When Asuna told me how good you were at your trade, I had to come down and see for myself."

A giggle came from the top of the stairs, "You asked for the best blacksmith I knew, and I did what you asked," Asuna said.

"It's ok Angel, she told me about your old work as a bounty hunter," the pink haired girl handed over the spear, which Angel slid into it's sleeve on her back.

"I'm finished with that job, I've joined the Assault Team for good now," Angel shrugged.

"Then if you ever need your weapon maintained, Lizbeth's Blacksmith Shop is always open!" The girl chirped.

"Sure," Angel nodded. "Thanks Liz!" She said, before heading up the steps and out the door followed by Asuna.

* * *

Silica stepped off the teleport gate of floor forty-eight. Asuna said there was a very good player blacksmith on this floor, and had given her directions to find said blacksmith.

She was sporting a new outfit now, an orange/yellow dress over a black sleeveless shirt; a yellow collar lined around her neck. The dress had sleeves that went from her elbows to her wrists. She was also wearing thick black leggings and orange boots. Her dagger rested in it's usual spot and Pina sat on her brown hair.

Pina chirped happily, "I know, this is such a calming town," Silica nodded. She opened her map, and looked for her position and the building Asuna had pointed towards.

Approaching the blacksmith, she saw that there was a water wheel and a glittering river flowing past. "This is a really good spot," she smiled, then giggled as she spotted a hand drawn sign outside, saying 'No Helios! I mean it Jackass!' and stepped inside.

Inside were a mixture of all sorts of weapons from small daggers to massive two-handed axes. However, there was no one in the building.

She heard the bell that was above the door ring, and turned to see a familiar face standing in the doorway. "Hey Kirito! What are you doing here?" She asked. He looked around at some of the wares.

"I came to see about getting a new sword," the Black Swordsman shrugged. He was in a new badass coat he had gotten from a monster drop called the Blackwyrm Coat, the drop came with matching boots, and he also had a different black sword on his back.

"Welcome to Lizbeth's Blacksmith Shop!" Someone spoke up, Silica and Kirito both looked around to see a pink haired girl step behind the worktop.

"Oh. Hi, I was wondering if you did custom orders," Kirito spoke up.

"Same here, this is starting to prove a little weak," Silica patted her dagger, the same one she had gotten from Kirito back then.

"I can, the thing is that metal prices are rather high these days," Lizbeth said.

"I'm not worried about the cost, I'm just want the best sword you can make as soon as possible," Kirito waved off any worries.

"And I'm set financially as well," Silica shrugged.

The door rung open again, and all three turned at the newcomer, and all three's eyes widened at the sight of none other than Wyvern's Inferno's resident tank player, Helios.

"Oh no! Not again! If you've come to smash up more of my wares then you can get out!" Lizbeth yelled, pulling a mace out from under the desk.

"Relax pinky, I'm here under orders of the guild today to behave, that and Alice threatened to jam her scythe where the sun doesn't shine if I misbehaved," Helios told her.

Kirito and Silica moved aside as he walked towards them, Silica knew about his nickname, who didn't know about the Unrelenting Psychopath! He was one of the most unpredictable players in the game!

"I'll give you one warning then, or you can kiss the dirt," Lizbeth growled, putting away her mace.

"Thank you, now, I need a new axe… mine gave up yesterday and I had to be bailed out by Riku of all people," Helios sighed.

Silica blinked, _that's why he's not stroking his ego_ , she realized. _It's been shattered, just like his axe!_

Lizbeth gave a giggle, "Serves you right for not getting it repaired after every leveling session you do," she smirked, then she calmed down. "Alright, looks like I have three customers for custom weapons, a dagger," She looked at Silica. "A one-handed longsword," her glance looked up to Kirito. "And now a two-handed axe," her gaze went up to her sworn enemy.

"One at a time, and Silica was here first," Kirito said. Silica nodded, and pulled her dagger and it's casing off her belt.

"I'd also like to see about getting something better than this," She said, pulling a thin estoc out from her inventory.

"Hmm, yeah, this is out of date, big time," Lizbeth nodded, appraising the dagger. "I know where to find a metal that will be a big improvement to this." She then took a look at the estoc. "Estocs can be tricky, is this for a friend of yours?" She asked.

"Yeah, my friend likes them at that exact sort of weight, what can you do for him?" Silica nodded.

"I think I know where to find a metal that can make something better than this," Liz nodded.

She looked to Kirito, "What about you, what are you after?" She asked.

Kirito pulled his sword off his back, and set it down in her hands, "I'd like to get something equal, or better than this," he said.

Lizbeth's eyes widened as she appraised the sword, "An Elucidator?! This is the gnarliest magic sword a player can get from a monster drop!"

"What do you think?" Kirito asked.

"I'm sorry, did you just say gnarliest?" Helios snickered.

"Hold it right there! I think I got just the thing for you," she said, and grabbed a sword from behind the worktop. "Try this! I call it my masterpiece!"

Kirito took it, and gave it few slashes, "I don't know… it's a little light," he frowned.

Lizbeth scoffed, "It should be, I used a speed type metal to forge it," she said.

"I'd like to test it, if it's cool?" Kirito said.

"What do you mean? Test it how?" Lizbeth asked.

"You know, it's durability," Kirito shrugged.

He then took Elucidator, and held it level to the table. Then he lifted up the masterpiece.

"H-hey! What are you doing! If you break your sword, I'm not responsible!" Lizbeth stuttered.

"If it breaks?" Kirito activated a vertical sword skill. "Then that's too bad!"

 _Crack!_ Silica and Helios winced as the lighter sword snapped in half from the brute force. The tip landed in the corner, before it shattered.

Silica looked up at the tank, to find he was struggling to hold in his laughter. Then Lizbeth screamed bloody murder, grabbing the remains from Kirito's hand.

"You… broke my masterpiece…?!" She whimpered, before the rest shattered in her hands. Silica watched as Lizbeth collapsed to the ground with a whine. While Helios was doing so well not to burst out laughing. She rolled her eyes, and elbowed him in the coconuts.

"What the hell kid?" He demanded, but it came out as a squeak.

"I thought she could use some cheering up," Silica shrugged. True enough, Lizbeth was halfway between giggling and crying. She then got to her feet and grabbed Kirito by his shirt.

"What the hell were you thinking!?" She demanded.

Kirito gulped, "I'm sorry! I didn't think yours would break so easy! Honest!" He said.

Lizbeth grit her teeth, "Are you saying my sword, my masterpiece of a sword was lamer than you thought!?"

Kirito glanced up, "Yeah… something like that…"

Lizbeth let him go, and growled. Helios was back on his feet, "Well that was new, not every day I see her anger pointed at someone else and not me," he chuckled.

"For your information buddy, I could make a buttload of swords that could break yours into a million tiny little pieces! You got that!" Lizbeth fumed.

"Well, that sounds like the type of sword I'm looking for. As long as it can shatter mine though," Kirito gave a grin.

"Ok, before we end up killing each other, remember that Helios still needs an order as well," Silica reminded them both.

"Oh yeah…" Lizbeth sighed. "Just… no axes that can behead a dragon," she muttered.

"Well, you know the type of axe I used, I need something of similar weight and length," Helios shrugged.

Lizbeth did know, "A heavy axe, and the same sort of size as Agil's, right?" She asked.

"Yup, that guy's axe skills are something else, I was hoping I could get something to match his guard dog," Helios muttered.

Lizbeth sighed, "I know where to find a metal for you two, luckily, it's in the same place," She said, pointing at Helios and Kirito. She then glanced at Silica, "Your dagger is easy, but that estoc… yeah, I'm certain that's the stuff I need…" she muttered.

She put her hands on her hips, "Problem is, you need a master smith with you to go and get the minerals."

"Then… this might end up killing us, but we might as well party up and get this done faster," Kirito shrugged.

"You mean it might get you three killed, I haven't provoked anyone," Silica smiled, Pina chirped in agreement.

"You think that, but I owe you one for that nutcracker," Helios muttered.

* * *

Floor 55: Canyon Maze

* * *

"Man, this place always makes me feel like I'm melting," Helios panted. He had equipped a substitute axe for now, but he was sweating at the heat above them.

"Yeah, this coat is… not the best for this place," Kirito nodded, rolling up his sleeves.

Silica agreed with both of them, but when Lizbeth said they were coming here, she quickly changed into something that wasn't as insulating as her dress. A red sleeveless shirt that left her stomach bare, and a black skirt. A breastplate covered her chest, and a pair of light brown gauntlets covered her arms.

"How far Liz?" Helios asked.

"We're not far, it's just around this corner, I've made this trip before," She said.

"Is this where you got that speed type metal?" Asked Kirito.

"Yep, no enemies guard this spot, and I'm an expert mace user, so I can handle the monsters that show up here whenever I need to make a trip out here," Liz nodded.

Rounding the corner, like she said, they spotted several veins of metal in the cliff sides, "Having some manpower makes me feel better about this place," Liz said, opening her menu.

"Are those really what I think they are?" Kirito asked.

"Pickaxes, yeah," Liz smirked. "I only have two, so get to work boys."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, as did Helios, "Seriously? You're going to make us do all the heavy lifting?"

Liz just grinned.

* * *

"My arms are sore," Helios muttered, collapsing to the ground.

"I'll make sure to remember this Liz," Kirito gasped, sitting down on a rock.

Liz looked at her inventory, smiling at the amount of ore they had mined for her, "Thanks for the help guys," she said. Silica giggled from her side, petting Pina, who was in her lap.

"And why weren't you two helping?" Helios asked.

"How rude! Delicate maidens like us shouldn't have to do any backbreaking work!" Liz glared at him.

"Is that all we have to do today?" Kirito asked.

"Nope, we still need to go and get the metal for your sword and his axe," Liz told him.

"And where is that?" Helios dared to ask.

"Still on this floor, the West Mountain," Liz shrugged.

All three of her work crew groaned, "Great, that frigid peak," Helios muttered. "It's worse than floor thirty's snowy fields."

"I like snow, but I'm not a big fan of the cold," Silica agreed. Pina chirped with an annoyed cry.

"Well, live and grin with it, come on," Kirito sighed.

* * *

Floor 55: West Mountain

* * *

It wasn't long before the four were climbing the mountains on the other side of the floor. Kirito was fine in his black coat, but Liz, Silica, who had put back on her orange/yellow dress, knowing it had the insulation perk, and Helios all donned cloaks to help keep them warm.

"How far up are we?" Silica asked, glancing over the side.

"Best not think about it in case you fall," Helios told her. Silica promptly backed up away from the edge at that.

"Shouldn't be too much further until we reach the peak. Liz, any threats that we should be aware of?" Kirito asked.

"I've heard there's a Dragon up here, I think…" The blacksmith said.

Silica's eyes widened, "A dragon?" She asked.

"Lucky for us then that we've got a dragon tamer with us," Helios chuckled.

"I'm not a dragon slayer though, I love dragons!" Silica shook her head. "Before we fight anything, I want to try something."

"Like what?" Kirito asked. "Talking to it?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I want to try and do," Silica nodded, with a determined look forming on her face.

Kirito looked back with a start, and traded a look with Helios. _Is she serious?!_

Soon enough, the odd party of four sighed with relief as they finally reached the summit.

Liz and Silica gasped as they looked at their reflection off the crystals at the top of the West Mountain.

"It's amazing…" Silica breathed.

"So pretty," Liz agreed.

"Alright, the crystals are all very shiny, but remember, this is a boss area, go in too far and you'll just get it's aggro," Helios told them.

"Right," Silica nodded. "Pina, let's go," she said, and walked confidently towards the biggest crystal formation. _I can do this. I'm not the timid little girl I was when I first set out from the Town of Beginnings!_

A loud roar was heard, coming from behind the crystals. Silica gave a little flinch, but stood her ground as the large ice-white dragon emerged from behind the large formation.

It was a majestic looking creature, with spikes all up and down it's back, and large scaly wings stretching out to it's sides. Two small arms extended from it's chest and it had an armored stomach. A pair of health bars appeared next to it's head, and a name popped up. X'rphan the White Wyrm.

"Pina, see if it wants to talk," Silica instructed her feathered friend, who flew up to eye level with the mighty beast.

She started squawking and chirping loudly, looking down to Silica, then back up to the large dragon. X'rphan nodded once, and let out a low rumble.

"Mighty Lord of the Sky, I speak on behalf of my allies and myself, we apologize for disturbing your nocturnal slumber and request forgiveness," Silica spoke up.

Kirito, Liz and Helios watched numbly from afar, ready to jump into action if negotiations went bad. "You think she'll actually make it see reason?" Liz asked.

"Well, she and Ion did make friends with a mother wolf, that's how he has Aurora, his ice wolf pup," Kirito shrugged.

"But this is much bigger than a wolf," Helios muttered.

"We seek the treasure that you guard in your domain, One who freezes all," Silica called up. "Once we have obtained it, we will leave without argument, letting you rest peacefully again."

X'rphan growled, before nodding it's head again. Silica blinked, "What will your answer be, Master of the Icy Winds?" She asked.

The dragon bowed it's head down to her, Silica refused to show fear as it approached. She could see all of it's finely lined teeth and bright red eyes. If she made a wrong move now, she could end up losing her head.

Kirito started reaching for his Elucidator, when X'rphan's large tongue licked Silica's face. "I don't believe it…" he breathed, as she giggled at the gesture of friendship.

"Kid? Can we come over?" Helios asked.

"Mighty X'rphan, may my comrades approach?" She asked.

The dragon nodded again, and his HP gauge disappeared.

Kirito, Helios and Liz hesitantly walked up, "I can't believe you actually made friends with this magnificent creature," Kirito said.

"You need more than that old nickname Silica, how about 'Dragonborn Silica'?" Helios smirked.

Liz could just watch, speechless. X'rphan gave a pitched growl, and lowered one of it's wings.

"Um… does anyone else think he wants us to ride on his back?" Kirito asked. Silica was already clambering up, being gentle where she put her hands and feet.

"In all the books I've read on dragons, riding them can be one of the most amazing things, count me in!" Helios grinned, and started climbing up too.

"You read?" Liz muttered quietly.

"Well, let's see where he takes us," Kirito backed up, before taking a running leap and landing on a flat spot of the dragon's back.

"Well, if you can't beat them…" Liz muttered. She re-equipped a pair of white pants, deciding she didn't want to risk the wind lifting up her skirt, then climbed up onto X'rpham's back.

"Alright my lord, we're all on board, so take us where you choose," Silica nodded, taking Pina and putting the small feathered dragon on her lap.

X'rpham roared, before stretching his wings to their fullest, and lifting into the air. His passengers all held on tightly and closed their eyes as he shot up into the clouds.

Silica was first to open her eyes and look around them, and her eyes widened at a particular sight.

The four all knew the structure off to the right, "Aincrad!" Kirito gasped.

"Look, you can see in to all the floors we've gotten to so far!" Helios pointed out.

"I see them too, look! Algade!" Silica pointed at one level, spotting the huge city of commerce.

"This is unbelievable, when I woke up this morning, I was not expecting to ride a fully sized dragon!" Lizbeth breathed, looking below at rolling fields and plains far below them, with massive cracks in the landscape and jagged rocks stuck out of the ground, she then pointed down.

"Look, those ruins remind me of the Town of Beginnings!" she called.

Everyone followed her finger, to see a massive ruin that was surrounded by a massive circular wall.

"Kirito, are you brushed up on the lore of Aincrad?" Helios asked.

"Yeah, this makes me think about the story about how Aincrad formed. It's called the Great Separation, and according to some lore I heard from NPCs, there are two priestesses who prayed to raise a massive floating castle, or something like that," Kirito nodded.

"My mighty lord, may we return to your domain? We need to retrieve your treasure and return to our civilization," Silica asked their form of transport. X'rphan roared, and made a sharp turn, causing his passengers to hold on for dear life as he returned to the West Mountain of Floor Fifty-five.

X'rphan came into land with surprising gentleness, and lowered his wing, Kirito, Liz, Helios and Silica all slid down it and stood before his head again. The dragon then dove down into a giant hole behind him, and returned a moment later with a pair of chests.

One opened to reveal an entire chest of blue crystal-like rocks. Liz picked one up and tapped it. "This is what we need!" She gasped.

The other chest opened to reveal a short sword, it was a bright blue color, and looked almost like stained glass smelted together to form a blade. Underneath the sword was a scroll. Silica picked up the scroll and opened it.

"'This sword is a gift from me, X'rphan the White Wyrm, Protector of this Summit, to the young human female who chose to speak with words, and not with their weapons. She carries a dragon's wisdom in her heart, and I wish to show my gratitude to her and her comrades.'" She read aloud.

"This sword is for you Silica!" Kirito said, picking up the little blade. He slashed it a few times, "It's light. Here, give it a few swings."

Silica took the blade in her right hand, and took up her battle stance, reversing the hold she had on the sword. Then, she activated Faded Edge, one of her skills that she knew would probably work with her new weapon.

"This feels great… there's more to the scroll," she said, turning her attention back to the parchment. "'I only wish I could help your cause more, brave human warriors, but the Lord of this World has prevented me from aiding you in battle. Maybe one day, we will meet again, to which I may support you in times of need.'"

She closed the scroll, and looked up at the Dragon, "It's ok, this is more than enough to help us," she said, patting him on the nose.

"With all these ingots, I can make enough weapons to help the frontlines get much stronger!" Liz smirked, putting the last of them in her inventory. Silica tapped on the sword, and added it to her inventory.

"Let's head back to Lindas now, we've got what we came here for, and more," Kirito said.

Silica nodded, before turning back to X'rphan, "We won't forget what you did for us today, thank you," she said. He nuzzled her, almost knocking her over.

Kirito was about to lead them back down, when he stopped.

"Kirito," Helios said, his tone crisp.

"I know. Whoever is out there, come out. _Now_ ," He demanded.

Silica got a sense of déjà vu, as a bunch of players crawled out from behind crystals, but unlike Titan's Hand, these players were in the colors and armor of the Holy Dragon Alliance.

Helios walked past Kirito, and sauntered up to the lead player. "Look pal, I'm in a good mood since we just had a lovely flight on the back of a dragon. Usually I'd just knock you all out, but I'm feeling nice, so I'm going to ask you politely to move aside."

"Oi oi! Looks like we got ourselves a tough guy here lads!" The leader smirked to his party. "I suggest you hand over everything you have, including whatever you got out of those chests, or we'll have to do some rearranging of your face."

The moment those words were uttered, Kirito, Liz and Silica all took a massive step backwards. "That was unwise," Kirito winced.

"I hear he's called the Unrelenting Psychopath for a reason, but I've never seen why," Liz muttered.

"Well you're about to see just how," Silica paled.

BAM!

The three watched as the player that had been badmouthing Helios fly over the side of the mountain. All that were heard were his screams before a distant thud was heard.

"Anyone else feel like going for a flight?" Helios asked. The players all looked at each other, before dropping to their knees with hands on their heads.

Kirito then stepped up next to Helios, "You're the group who broke out from the Holy Dragon Alliance, aren't you?" He asked.

A bunch of nods, "You've also used that armor to steal and lie and kill even," Kirito went on. "Or according to Lind."

The leader of the Holy Dragon Alliance had announced to the frontlines about the group of players who had splintered from their guild, and expressed a reward to anyone who could rope them in for their crimes.

The players all bowed their heads low in shame. Kirito opened his menu, and composed a message to Lind, saying he had found the group and forced them to surrender, he then said he would bring them to the teleport gate in Grandzam.

"Right, let's go down and round up the unfortunate player who's lying at the bottom of this valley," Silica said.

All four players took the rogue players weapons and drew their own, and escorted them down the mountain. Kirito found the player deep in a snowbank, and pulled him out to make him look at Helios. He promptly joined his friends in the ranks of the prisoners.

A squad of Holy Dragon Alliance men were waiting at Grandzam's teleport gate when they returned to town, and Kirito handed them over to the group, and exchanged words with one of the members.

The four then stood on the gate, "Teleport: Lindas!" They called out in unison.

* * *

"So, this short sword is called Fang of the Dragon, what do you plan to do with it Silica? It's probably better than any dagger I make for you now," Liz said, appraising the weapon that X'rphan had given the young tamer.

"I'll use it. I know changing weapons can be difficult, but I'll ask Dagger for some tips next time I see her," Silica said.

"You're actually friends with the Rip-Off Merchant?" Liz whimpered. "Anyway, time for the rest of you, and that Estoc needs done." She said, and the four went down to her forge.

"A one-handed longsword for Kirito? Correct?" She asked.

"Yep," nodded the black swordsman. Liz put some of the crystalline ingots in the forge, and then put one on the anvil. She then picked up her hammer, and took a deep breath, setting to work forging the weapon before her.

After a number of heavy hits, the material glowed red, before changing shape and forming a beautiful blue sword. Liz put her hammer down and appraised it.

"The Sword is called Dark Repulser, One of a kind," She said. Kirito took the new blade and gripped it tightly, before giving a few heavy swings. Silica and Helios could feel the power rippling through the sword's swipes.

"It's really heavy…" Kirito said. "It's a good sword!" he grinned.

Liz then took the second ingot, and sighed. She looked up at Helios. "If I make this axe for you, promise you'll take care of it? And that you won't come and break my shop again?" She asked.

Helios sighed, "If it'll make you happy blacksmith," He shrugged. "I swear, I won't cause you any more trouble." He said.

Liz smiled faintly, and picked up her hammer and set to work again, making the two-handed axe for her nemesis. Once again, the ore glowed brightly, before forming a massive battleaxe. It carried the same qualities as Dark Repulser, with the blue metal of the crystal forming a pair of huge blades on one side, and a third point extended from the handle. The hilt was a black metal, with brown handgrips at different points up and down the axe.

"The Axe is called Dragonslayer, and I think it's the best axe I've ever forged, go ahead, take it outside to swing around for a bit," She said.

The powerhouse player nodded, and went outside down by the river, Liz, Silica and Kirito watched from the walkway between the shop and the forge as he swung it around a few times. Then he activated a sword skill, and spun around.

"This thing is awesome!" He grinned, and came back into the building.

Liz then took out a shining white ingot, and took one last deep breath before getting to work, one more glow, and a shimmering thin estoc now was resting on the anvil. It was a white metal, sleek in design, it had a thin guard in a black metal around the base of the blade, and the handgrip was an ashy grey.

"This estoc is called Icicle Needle. And I'm pretty pleased, this is my first custom order for an estoc, so I think this went pretty well," Liz smiled, taking the sword into her hand.

Silica summoned Ion's old sword, and then tested the new one next to the old. "They're the same weight! Length too. I'll take it to Ion and have him see what he thinks."

"So. Because of Silica's amazing negotiations today, I'm willing to let you have these weapons for free, but promise you'll come by again and have me take care of them," Lizbeth sighed.

Kirito opened his menu, "I took a photo while we were out there, look at this," tapping something, a camera crystal appeared, before a window appeared before it.

Silica was smiling widely at the front, Pina sat in her lap. Kirito had an arm holding towards the camera, but that's because he was holding the crystal. Liz was sat between him and Helios, and was looking around at the skies and the ground far below them. And Helios was looking towards the background, which was none other than Aincrad.

"Great picture!" Helios grinned. "Can I have a copy of this? I want to put it up in our base," He said.

"I'd like one too," Silica nodded. "So I can treasure this moment forever."

Liz looked towards where she kept her photos of her early SAO days, with a party of friends. "I'll take a copy as well," she smiled.

At that moment, the door slammed open, and Asuna, Ion and Ren all charged in.

"Uhh… what's going on?" Helios asked.

"You are! You four all disappeared off the map! What happened?!" Ion demanded, taking Silica into a hug.

"Well… there's a cool story about that," Kirito chuckled.

"So tell us, we've got time, and I have time to figure out whether Helios here is the cause of your disappearance," Ren sighed.

"Honest Ren! It wasn't me this time! In fact, Silica is the reason," the tank player said.

Ion glanced down at the girl. "Explain. Now," he said sternly.

So the four players took it in turns to explain their adventure to the West Mountain, and the bonus trip.

"You left Aincrad?" Ion asked. "That's impossible!"

"Then examine exhibit A," Helios said, pointing at the picture that was still active in Kirito's hand.

The three players looked, and then back at the four with jaws dropped.

"You saw the world outside? What was it like?" Ren asked.

"There was a huge city, like the Town of Beginnings, and the landscape looked like Armageddon took place, with massive crags and chasms formed," Silica said.

"It was unforgettable, X'rphan the White Wyrm is a friend of ours now," Liz said.

Asuna, Ion and Ren all looked at each other, "Did you at least get what you came here for?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah, I'm back in action," Helios grinned, showing the axe that Liz had just made him.

"Nice toy Helios, come on, let's go see how it does against actual enemies," Ren nodded.

"Hold on, we haven't paid her yet," The tank said.

"Like I said. I'm going to let you have those weapons for free, besides, we've had an adventure to remember, I have a lot of materials to upgrade my entire stock and you have weapons to cut your way to the top," Liz shook her head.

Helios whooped, before running out the doors. Ren scratched his head, "I'd better make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Catch you guys later!" With that, he took off after his guild member.

The five players remaining laughed, "If you two ever need your weapons fixed up, my door's always open!" Liz said.

"Sure thing Lizbeth," Silica nodded.

"You got it," Kirito smirked.

* * *

 **Silica: I like it.**

 **Sachi: No complaints here.**

 **Ion: Yep, thought you may like it, I'm wondering what my other fans might say.**

 **Angel: If it's anything like all your content so far, I'm sure they'll be fine.**

 **Emma: Honestly though, you guys rock like always!**

 **Helios: We know.**

 **Ion: No Wyverns! Go on! Out! If you want to take part in an omake, go ask your author!**

 **Helios: I'm going, and I am gone!**

 **All: Next time: Two Swords. Max Speed!**


	8. Chapter 8: Dual Swords Max Speed

**Hello everyone! I am back again! Went up to London at the weekend to visit EGX, which is England's biggest gaming convention, got to play some stuff, Paladins, Stelaris: Utopia, Dawn of War III, etc. All I can say is that it was AWESOME!**

 **But, I have returned with a new chapter!**

 **TheSib owns Wyvern's Inferno, I only own my OCs!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Two Swords. Max Speed**

 **Title Song: Strength of a Thousand Men by Two Steps From Hell**

* * *

October 18th 2024

Floor 61: Selmburg

* * *

Ion opened his eyes, feeling the effects of sleep fade from his digital body. Deciding to wait a bit longer, he just stared up at the roof. To his side was his girlfriend, the amazing girl who he had fallen for since the day they met in Tolbana. Angel.

He still couldn't believe it. He probably would still be single if he had been out there. He never would have met Silica, Angel, Asuna or any of his other friends from his job as a frontliner.

 _It's been two years now, since SAO began. Two years have passed and we've almost made it three quarters of the way home. But we've had a lot of casualties to get us this far, we're almost at four thousand deaths now, and who knows how many are still to come? Emma is out there… waiting for me to come home. I have to keep fighting for her!_

He heard a knock at the door. "Ion? Angel? Hurry up or you'll miss breakfast!" Silica called.

He let her footsteps fade, then turned his head to the mop of blonde hair next to him, who stirred and opened her amethyst eyes. "Good morning," He smiled.

"And to you. Was that Silica?" She asked, sitting up and stretching her arms and back. At night, she wore a purple short shirt and black shorts.

"It was. Come on, we'd best get ready to go down and get our morning meal," Ion nodded, pecking her on the cheek.

"I'm going to go have a shower, will you want it after me?" Angel asked.

"I'm good, I showered twice yesterday," Ion told her.

Angel shrugged, and walked over to their attaching bathroom.

Ion sat up, and opened his menu, equipping a black shirt and pair of pants. Opening the door, he was greeted with rich smells from the kitchen downstairs. "Come on Aurora!" He said to his faithful hound.

Since the frontlines made it past floor sixty-seven, Ion, Angel and Silica all pooled together their col and bought a small two floor house on floor Sixty-one, a week later, Ion had been exploring when he discovered Asuna also had an apartment in Selmburg.

At the front door was a coat stand, and Silica had enforced a rule that coats were to be taken off manually and hung up, to make the place feel homey. The hallway went right into a sitting room, and stairs went up from the front door. Adjacent to the sitting room was the dining room and the kitchen next to that.

Upstairs were five rooms, a bathroom, a storage cupboard, three bedrooms, one for each member of their little team. However, sometimes, Angel liked to share with Ion, and vice versa. Ever since they had become an official pair, they had continued to bond every day.

Ion walked into the kitchen, yawning slightly. "Morning," He muttered.

Silica was just pulling a dish out of the oven, but smiled, "And to you," She said, putting the dish on a cooling mat. She was wearing a black short sleeved shirt and black skirt. Over her outfit was a red and gold apron.

"What's the plans for today? I'm sure we're getting _really_ close to the boss room, I just know it," Ion asked.

"Then how about we get back to mapping Floor Seventy-four's dungeon? Where did we get up to yesterday?" Angel asked, entering the conversation. She was wearing a purple sleeveless shirt and black tight pants.

"We got to the safe zone pretty far up, but we ran out of crystals and turned back before things got hairy," Silica reminded her, walking over with several bowls of porridge.

"So once we're done with breakfast, shall we get back to it?" Ion asked, taking a spoon and getting ready to eat.

"I'm game, Silica?" Angel asked.

"Sure, and Pina is ready too, what about you Aurora?" Asked the dragon tamer, sliding a bowl down next to the ice pup. She yapped with confidence, then tucked into her food.

After breakfast, the three headed for the door. Ion handed a blue short jacket to Silica, and a black leather coat for Angel. Then he grabbed his new white longcoat, called Snowstorm Cloak. It trailed down to behind his knees, and flapped around in the wind. Whenever he wore it, he was reminded of Kirito's Blackwyrm Coat, and saw the resemblance between the two coats.

* * *

Floor 74: Kamdet

* * *

Ion, Silica and Angel stepped off the teleport gate of Floor Seventy-four's main town, Kamdet. As Ion was about to move, he saw a familiar boy in black standing nearby.

"Where is she?" He mumbled, then yawned.

Ion noticed the teleport gate light up again, but before they could move out of the way, a figure in white and red with chestnut hair flew out and collided with them and the boy.

"Hell of an entrance Asuna…" Angel muttered.

"Sorry about that…" She apologized.

"Asuna off first, then Angel, I'm next, then Silica can get off Kirito," Ion sighed, noting their entanglement. Aurora and Pina both watched from nearby, able to get out from the problem beforehand.

Quickly and efficiently, the five players got to their feet. At that moment, the teleport gate lit up again and a single figure exit the light. He was dressed in armor of the KoB, and a large sword was sheathed to his waist. His face was rather gnarled, and looked rather bony.

"You again…?" He asked, noticing Asuna hiding behind Ion and Kirito, then glaring at the latter.

"Friend of yours?" Angel asked Asuna.

"Lady Asuna, why are you acting this way? I'm only carrying out my duties to protect you," the newcomer said.

"If that's the case, then why were you lurking around my house this morning huh?!" Asuna asked. This caused several alarm bells to ring in her friends' heads.

"You have an unruly habit of leaving without informing where you're going, so for the last month, part of my mission has been to watch you in Selmburg," He said.

"Who ordered this? It wasn't the commander…" Asuna demanded.

"I'm tasked with being your guard, that includes in your house," the KoB guy said.

"No it does not you idiot!" Asuna yelled.

"You need to stop acting like a child. Now, let's return to headquarters," He stated, walking down and towards Asuna, reaching to grab the second-in-command.

Kirito and Ion both intercepted the man. "Sorry, but Lady Asuna has made it sound crystal clear that she doesn't want to go back with you," Ion said.

"Besides, she's planned on teaming up with me today," Kirito added. "Don't worry, it's not like we're going on a boss raid."

"Young punks these days…" the man said. "You wish to mess with me?! I am a glorious member of the Knights of the Blood Oath!" He growled.

"Yes, we wish to mess with you like this," Ion nodded with a smirk.

"You two have big mouths… but because you made a mockery of me yesterday, I'm going to give you a chance to prove how tough you are," The KoB soldier opened his menu, and sent Kirito a duel request.

Ion glanced over, and read the name, Kuradeel.

Kirito exchanged a look with Asuna, who nodded. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"It's alright, he's gone way over the line, I'll tell the commander how this happened," Asuna confirmed.

Kirito shrugged and accepted the duel request.

His friends moved back, allowing Kirito to draw his black sword, and settle into his stance, while Kuradeel did the same with his sword.

Ion had never seen Kirito fight another player before, this would be interesting. He then examined Kuradeel's stance, and then his sword. Then smirked. "This will be over in ten seconds."

"I predict ten seconds as well," Angel muttered next to him.

"I'll say nine," Silica added. Pina gave an agreeful chirrup.

"What do you mean?" Asuna asked.

The buzzer signifying the duel start went off, and both combatants charged up a sword skill. When Kirito's black blade met Kuradeel's, there was a little resistance, and then they passed each other.

Then the pointed end of Kuradeel's sword clattered to the ground. The Knight stood up, his sword shattered. "Impossible!" He gasped.

"We can try again with another sword, or we can call it a day," Kirito said, after carrying out his custom, a slash back and forth, before sheathing it on his back.

Kuradeel opened his menu, and a dagger appeared in his hand. However, before he could strike out at Kirito, Asuna shot between the two with her rapier out.

 _PING!_ She thrust her weapon at the dagger, and it shot into the air. Ion caught it from the air, and twirled it around in his hand as he walked up.

"That's enough Kuradeel," He said.

"As second in command of the Knights of the Blood Oath, I'm removing you from your duties as my bodyguard. Furthermore, I will send a request to the Commander, and have you removed from the guild," Asuna said.

"I don't know how but he cheated! You saw how he destroyed my sword!" Kuradeel protested.

"Fun fact Kuradunce, your weapons are crap," Ion said, after taking a look at the dagger. "Observe," and he took the weapon in both hands, then snapped it in two.

"If Ion's average strength stat is snapping these things, then you have no hope anymore," Angel said, finally walking up. "Now then, why don't you take your bony ass back through that teleporter before we make your face even worse."

Kuradeel realized he was outnumbered, and gave up. Without a word, he trudged onto the teleport gate, and muttered out a destination, promptly vanishing.

Asuna sighed, and Kirito caught her as she wobbled a little. "You ok?" He asked.

"I'll be fine. The guild rules have been getting on my nerves is all," she muttered.

"Hey, if you chose to sideline your guild so you could team up with this loser? So what? Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," Ion told her. Kirito frowned at the casual potshot.

"Yeah, Optimus here is right, screw your guild's rules and regulations," Angel smirked. "No offence to your guild as a whole."

"None taken, but I agree with the rules being… too much now," Asuna nodded. "Thanks for the advice."

"Hey, want to party up with us? We plan on hitting the dungeon and continuing to find the boss room?" Silica asked.

"Sure, we were planning the same thing before this all happened," Kirito nodded.

"Who wants to host the party today then?" Ion asked.

"I vote Kirito," Angel said. Followed by Silica and Asuna.

Ion pouted at the democracy used by his friends. If to mock him anymore, Pina raised a wing, and Aurora pointed a paw at Kirito as well.

"Come on then, let's get going," Kirito grinned.

* * *

Floor 74: Dungeon

* * *

A wailing cry echoed through the dungeon as Asuna ducked and weaved around the sword of her foe. Activating the skill Star Splash, she nimbly thrust at the joints and weaker areas of the Assault Skeleton she was fighting. Kirito was standing by for a call to switch, but as he did, he couldn't help but be amazed at her skill.

"Switch with me Kirito!" She called. He nodded, as she jabbed the skeleton's shield and forced it out of the way.

Kirito swiftly got between her and the mob, activating the sword skill Horizontal Square, slashing four times, one on each side of the creature, as he broke off, the outline of his skill flashed, and the Assault Skeleton shattered.

Silica took Fang of the Dragon, activating Swift Trick, dashing back and forth across a lizardman Lord's scaly hide. It hissed, and it's curved sword lit up orange.

"No you don't!" Ion called, shooting past her with the skill Shooting Star. A translucent red ring formed around the mob, this was one of Ion's bonus skills for Shooting Star, sometimes, it could immobilize an enemy in their tracks.

"Angel! Finish it!" He called, leaping back.

"Roger!" she nodded. Her spear lit up yellow, and she lunged at the Lizardman with the skill Shining Comet, a three-hit skill which was three rapid stabs with the business end of the long weapon.

The monster didn't stand a chance, and shattered into fragments. Ion speedily twirled his sword around, before sheathing it on his beltline. Silica calmly put her shortsword back on her belt. Angel twirled her spear once, then slid it into the sleeve on her back.

"Nice work everyone," Ion said.

"You three work great together," Asuna noted.

"Thanks, so do you two," Angel smiled.

* * *

Kirito and Ion both lead the way, reaching a long corridor. "Guys…?" Angel asked.

Kirito looked up from his map, and his eyes widened. Ahead of them, at the far end of the corridor was a pair of massive doors. Everyone there knew what that meant…

"Is that what I think it is?" Asuna asked.

"Uh huh, we just found the boss room," Kirito confirmed.

"The elusive pair of doors, about time we found them, we've been on this floor for too long as it is," Ion muttered.

"Shall we look inside?" Silica asked.

"I'll go, I'm willing to guess I'm the fastest player here," Ion said. "Aurora, sit and wait here," he commanded his familiar.

"I'll go with you," Asuna offered. Ion nodded, she was the only other player who could probably keep up with him.

Both drew their weapons, and grabbed a teleport crystal each. With a mighty push, they shoved open the two heavy doors, and started walking slowly into the room.

"Nothing's here…" Asuna said after a moment.

"Give it a minute," Ion told her. The moment the words left his mouth, blue torches lit up, and their eerie flame shone over a large figure in the middle of the room.

First thing to note was the sheer size of it. It had the head of a goat, finely toned muscles that easily held up a huge sword the length of a school bus. Ion then caught sight of the snake-headed tail curl around from behind it.

"It's a minotaur…" Ion muttered. Four HP bars appeared next to it, and it's name popped up. 'The Gleam Eyes'.

The five party members decided to do the most logical option at this point.

"Run like hell!" Ion yelled, and legged it for the door. His party members quickly followed him. Aurora yelped and followed as fast as her short legs could allow.

* * *

The party of five didn't stop until they reached the nearest safe zone. It was only then that they all collapsed from the adrenaline rush.

"Wow. He's gonna be a tough one," Silica panted.

"You're right, I saw he only had that one giant sword, and I'm pretty sure it's got special attacks too," Ion agreed. Aurora climbed into his lap, and gave almost a nodding expression.

"We're going to have to put tanks up front just to wear it down," Asuna said.

"And it wouldn't hurt to have at least ten shield users either," Kirito nodded.

Asuna suddenly started glaring suspiciously at the Black Swordsman. "Shield users huh?" She asked.

"What?" Kirito asked.

"I just noticed something, the advantage of using a one-handed sword, is that you can also use a shield," Asuna said. "But I don't think I've ever seen you use one. And how come you're not using the sword you commissioned from Liz?"

Kirito started frowning, and Asuna leaned closer, "Very suspicious," she said.

Ion, Angel and Silica all watched quietly, eyes flicking between Kirito and Asuna, waiting to see who might crack first.

"Oh never mind, it's rude to ask people to justify their skills," Asuna said, backing off. Kirito gave a small sigh of relief.

"Since it's gotten so late, why don't we break for lunch?" she asked, pulling out a picnic basket, "Sorry guys, I wasn't expecting you to come along, so I don't have anything for you."

"It's ok, we have our own little master chef here," Ion waved off her concern. Silica manifested a picnic basket of her own.

"Better take your gloves off before you eat," She told him and Angel, who both complied. Silica handed a sandwich with all sorts of attractive fillings to each of them. She then pulled out two small bowls for the two familiars, who dug in eagerly.

"Excellent as ever," Ion smiled, after taking a mouthful and swallowing. "I detect some new seasonings though… what'd you put in this time?" He asked.

"I finally cracked Mayonnaise," Silica grinned.

"You figured it out too?" Asuna asked.

"Uh huh, what else did you make?" Silica nodded.

"Well, try this?" Asuna picked out a little pot, and poured a purple sauce onto each of her friend's hands.

"That tastes…. Like soy sauce!" Kirito gasped.

"Yeah! It's the same! I haven't had soy sauce for ages now," Angel nodded.

"Chalk it up to a whole year of experiments and study," Asuna smiled, pushing a command. The five were surrounded with windows, showing recipes and combinations.

"Whoa… you've been busy," Ion muttered, looking around at some.

At that moment, the sound of someone entering the safe zone was heard, and all five turned to see six men in red armor dragging their feet. "Take a breather guys cause this grinding is killin' me," their leader muttered, a familiar face with a bandana around his head.

"Klein!" Ion waved with a smirk.

"Oh hey! It's Ion's group, and Kirito?" Klein gave a grin. "You're a solo, what are you doing with these guys?"

"We kind of bumped into each other at the warp gate and decided to party up with him and Asuna," Angel shrugged.

"Asuna's here too?" Klein asked, noticing the Vice Commander of the top guild.

"Good to see you again Klein," Asuna gave a polite bow.

"Uh… yeah… you too," The samurai nodded.

Ion stood up, and approached him, "Still owe you one for saving our necks at floor seventy's raid," He said, holding out a fist.

"Don't mention it, it's the code of a samurai to help those in need," Klein shook off the gratitude, and accepted the fist bump. "Besides, it's the frontlines code remember? Never let another player die if you can help it."

At that moment, the sound of the safe zone getting more visitors rang through the area, followed by a light thud. Everyone turned, and smiled at the sight of six individual players in black and red.

"Hey look! It's Kirito, Ion and Klein!" The young voice of Mai spoke up, having collapsed onto her backside, was first to notice the group ahead of them. The smallest member of Wyvern's Inferno was a brunette that fell to her shoulders and had red eyes. She was wearing a red shirt and pink miniskirt, and black leggings. Over her shirt is a lightweight breastplate. Her boots were red and so were her fingerless gloves, and her weapon, a rapier, was on her hip.

"Asuna's here too," Alice noticed. She had long black hair and scarlet red eyes. She wore a two-strap red combat dress with black frills at the bottom. Her boots are a red color with a black outline and she has black leggings. Her scythe was strapped in a sleeve on her back.

"It is a very odd gathering here, we have a loner, the vice commander of the top guild, a duo of pet owners, a blonde Alice with a spear, and make believe samurai," Helios listed with a grin. He had ashy black hair and brown eyes. He wore a crimson red chest and leg plates with black trimming running down it along with a pair of black roped gauntlets with yellow studs where the knuckles were. On his back was his axe that he commissioned from Liz, and on his feet were black plated boots.

Ren, Dagger and Riku chuckled at their resident tank's comment. Riku had blonde hair and green eyes, and wore a red cloak which covered most of his body, except his black boots. Under the cloak was lightweight armor and the holster for his dagger which he kept at his waist, along with a handful of throwing knives that were attached to his belt.

Dagger had blue eyes and radiant red hair in a ponytail. She wore light leather armor that was tinted red to match her hair, with brown padding where the more armored areas were. She also wore matching pants and a small black cape with a hood behind her. On her hands are a pair of leather fingerless gloves and on her feet were a pair of flat heels. On her hop was her shortsword and a small bag of col.

Their leader, Ren, had brown hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a black shirt under a long red coat with black trimming running down the edges. His pants are a dark brown color, and he had the same color gloves on his hands. On his feet were black boots, and on his back was his one-handed longsword.

"Hey, it's Ren and gang," Ion grinned.

"This is one hell of a gathering here," Angel muttered.

She wasn't kidding, the original five members of their party now had two six-man guilds with them.

Ren's eyes settled on who was sat next to Kirito, and widened. "Asuna?!" He asked.

His guild followed his gaze and they too were surprised, "Yup, looks like the Black Swordsman teamed up with Lightning Flash," Klein chuckled.

"Oh, now this I need to hear!" Alice gave a smirk.

Asuna tried to hide her blush, "What? Can't two friends team up now and then?" She shrugged.

"Friends huh? Wasn't she trying to shove her rapier up your ass a month ago?" Riku asked.

Kirito groaned as he remembered that particular event. "Thanks a ton, Riku. I just got that out of my head!"

Everyone laughed at his expense. Ion's ears picked up the sound of movement into the safe zone again, heavily armored footsteps followed.

"Kirito." Asuna said sharply. She had spotted them too, a large unit of players all in dark green and grey armor, all with swords, lances and shields. However, compared to the Assault Team members, they all were rather poor quality.

"It's the ALF?" Silica asked.

"Didn't they almost get wiped out at floor twenty-five?" Ion asked.

"They were, we had to bail them out," Helios nodded.

The leader let his men rest, and approached the large gathering, "I'm with the Aincrad Liberation Force, Lieutenant Colonel Corvats," he spoke.

"I'm Kirito, this is Asuna of the KoB, Klein of Furinkazan and Ren of Wyvern's Inferno," Kirito said, introducing the ranking guild leaders.

"Sure sure," Corvats said. "Do you have any intel on the area up ahead?"

"Sure, we also have a map all the way up to the boss room," Kirito nodded.

"Then if you would please hand over that data, then we will be on our way," Corvats demanded, much to the outrage of the Frontliners.

"Hold on! You expect us to just hand over this map data?! Just like that!?" Angel seethed.

"Do you even know how much of a pain in the ass mapping is?!" Klein added with a growl.

"We hand over resources to civilian players all the time, and we don't charge a thing for it!" Corvats yelled. "Therefore it is in your best interests to hand over that map!"

"Back off guys," Kirito said, as Klein, Ren, Alice, Helios, Ion and Angel all reached for their weapons. "I was going to go public with the map when we got back to town anyway."

He opened his menu and sent a request to Corvats with the map data, who accepted it.

"Hmm, thanks for cooperating," the soldier said, and turned back to his exhausted men.

"By the way, if you plan on tackling that boss, I'd advise against it," Angel spoke up.

"That's my decision to make woman," Corvats said.

"Hey! We just looked inside that boss room pal! And you won't even scratch it with your troops half dead!" Kirito told them. "Look at them! They're exhausted!"

"Nonsense! My men are tougher than that!" Corvats boasted. "On your feet! Let's move!"

His troops grudgingly got to their feet, and followed their leader out of the safe zone, all while the frontline players watched them go.

"They won't be stupid… right?" Ion asked.

"I was half tempted to vote we let Helios on them, like a mini-boss," Mai said. "If they couldn't beat him, I doubt they would last against a floor boss."

"As amusing as that sounds… I say we just shadow them, make sure they don't do anything idiotic," Ren suggested.

"What? Like last time?" Helios gave an exasperated sigh. "Idiots… who doesn't bring a teleport crystal to a boss raid…"

"Who wants to bet they will be stupid though?" Alice asked. Everyone raised their hand. "Who wants to bet we'll have to bail them out again?" Again, everyone kept their hand up.

"Come on then, let's get shadowing," Kirito said.

The massive group of players agreed with the idea, and started to move out after the ALF group. As they did, Klein held back Ion and Asuna.

"Hey, you guys… I got a favor to ask. He can be a loner and he's antisocial and addicted to combat… but please, take care of him, will ya?" He asked.

All three glanced at Kirito's retreating back, before Ion smirked, "Sure, I never let a friend down," He said.

"Yep! I promise he's in good hands," Asuna added with a smile.

* * *

With both Wyvern's Inferno and Furinkazan, doubling back towards the boss room was a piece of cake.

"Klein! He's all yours!" Ion called out. The Samurai nodded, his Katana lighting up before slashing through their shared target, an Assault Skeleton and finishing his HP.

"That's the last one, only thing left now is the boss' room" He said, sheathing his sword with a stylish twirl. "Maybe those guys used some kind of teleportation thingy to go back."

Everyone hoped he was right, but a blood curdling scream dashed those hopes immediately. Ion didn't wait for anyone, taking off towards the boss room with all his speed stat could muster. Kirito, Asuna, Angel, Silica and Ren all were right behind him as they charged around the corner and towards the open doors.

It was a disaster, the unit had scattered, and Gleam Eyes was standing tall with barely any physical damage on his massive form.

"Don't just stand there! Use your crystals!" Kirito called.

"We already tried them! They aren't working!" A soldier near the door called.

 _An anti-crystal zone in a boss room?!_ Ion thought with pure horror.

"What'sgoing on?" Klein and the rest of the group had arrived.

"The Aincrad Liberation Force doesn't know the word retreat!" Corvats roared from the front of his squad. "Charge!" He and his men all burst forward.

"Don't be idiots!"

"Don't do it!"

"Fall back!" Angel, Kirito and Ion all yelled out respectively.

Gleam Eyes wasn't impressed, knocking them all aside with his huge sword, then swinging upwards and sending one flying into the air to land in the doorway.

"Hang on Corvats!" Kirito called, rushing to the soldier's side.

Corvats' helmet pixelated, before shattering, "It's… impossible…" He muttered, and burst into shards. Everyone gasped at the loss of a player.

"Damn it…" Ion cursed. "Ren, what's the play here?" He turned to the tactician of the frontlines. The Wyvern leader was analyzing the room fully, counting the surviving soldiers and then their group.

As he did, Gleam Eyes' sword was baring down on another soldier. Suddenly, Asuna burst forward with a cry, her rapier out and charging up a skill.

"Asuna!" Kirito called, rushing in after her.

Ion, Ren and Klein shared glances, "If you can't beat 'em…" Ion gave a sigh. The Wyverns and Samurai all rushed in, led by Ion, Silica and Angel. As they moved, Ion glanced at Asuna.

Her Quadruple Pain skill left four marks on the boss' back, but he shrugged it off, whirled around, his sword knocking Asuna off balance in the air, and his fist slamming into her, sending her to the floor in a heap.

Kirito leapt in, deflecting the massive horse cleaver, and allowing Asuna to back up. He then began to carefully take the boss on solo.

"Get the army guys out! Ion, Klein, help me out here!" Ren called out.

The three rushed in to help Kirito, who deflected another attack from Gleam Eyes.

Ren ran past the boss, slashing at it where he could. Klein and Ion followed his lead, Ion leaping up to swipe his estoc across the back of the neck while Klein slashed at the minotaur's arms. Asuna also jumped in with her rapier, landing a few quick jabs before leaping back.

Gleam Eyes recovered from the onslaught, and his sword came down, causing the brave few players to leap back.

"Any ideas Ren?" Asuna asked.

"Not with this few people," Ren shook his head. "Incoming."

They backed up again as Gleam Eyes spat purple energy at them in the form of a breath attack.

"… I have an idea," Ion said. "But it can be risky."

"Probably no better than what I've got," Kirito shrugged.

"What do you need team reckless?" Klein asked.

"Ten seconds, hold him off me," Ion said, leaping back.

"Same here," Kirito nodded.

"Then ten seconds you shall have!" Ren said, charging back in, sword raised.

Ion opened his menu, and scrolled across to where his skills were, scrolling down the list, he then stopped at one skill, and pushed confirm.

 _No going back now!_ He sighed.

"I think we're ready! Switch!" Kirito called.

Ion took a deep breath, and stepped forward as Ren and Asuna smashed aside the giant blade before them.

Ren watched the two swordsmen, one in white, one in black. A blue glow appeared on Kirito's back as he charged in towards the boss, right arm deflecting the massive sword, while his left reached back and pulled out a second blade, Dark Repulser, which slammed into Gleam Eyes, knocking him back.

He then saw a white blur as Ion shot past the boss, his body and sword glowing green. He then dashed around, before slashing back and forth behind it, continuously cutting at the knees of the minotaur that was occupied with Kirito.

"Starburst Stream!" The Black Swordsman yelled, his swords becoming a whirlwind of motions that rained down upon the Gleam Eyes.

"Max Speed Strike!" Ion shot in from behind said boss, his sword flashing a brighter green and beginning a similar combo of strikes that continuously thrust into the back of the minotaur. Both gave a huge roar, before running through with one last strike.

Gleam Eyes shattered, and both wobbled as congratulations popped up above them, however, no one could move as they had witnessed something spectacular.

Kirito was first to collapse, and Ion dropped onto a knee, resting on his sword.

"Kirito/Ion!" Asuna and Angel rushed up to them.

"I'm… alright," Ion coughed. "How's Kirito?" He asked. His eyes glanced at the tinyiest sliver of HP remaining on his friend's health gauge. Without a second thought, he pulled a red crystal from a pocket in his coat, and used it on the Black Swordsman, restoring his health to a safe green.

"Ugh…" Kirito picked himself back up, into a sitting stance. "How long was I out?" He asked.

"Only a few seconds," Asuna said, before closing her arms around him.

"Corvats and two of his men are the only ones who didn't make it," Klein reported.

"We haven't lost a player in a boss raid since the disaster that happened on floor Sixty-seven. No offence Ren," Angel sighed.

"No, I accept it, that was my fault," Ren shook his head. "But enough about losses, what the heck was that stunt you two just pulled?"

Ion glanced at Dagger, "How much do I have to pay you to keep quiet about what I think we're both about to say?" He asked reluctantly.

"Depends on the reason," Dagger shrugged.

"I picked up an extra skill, it's called Max Speed," Ion sighed. "It's a bit like Ren's Crimson Flash, but I think mine is purely speed of the body, whereas I think his is about the speed of the mind. I can accelerate to incredible speeds, but there's a drawback, my defenses are lowered to the most minimum they can be for my current level."

Everyone gasped at the news, Klein turned to Kirito, "You're not off the hook either, what the heck was it you did?" He asked.

"It's an extra skill I picked up," Kirito looked away. "Dual Wielding."

"Dude! Are there prerequisites?" Klein asked.

"If I knew that, I would have shared it by now," Kirito shrugged.

"It's not on the Info Brokers skill list…" Riku spoke up, scrolling through a menu.

"I'm not seeing it either, or Ion's skill. You two got unique skills!" Klein grinned.

Ion looked at Dagger again, "Well?" He asked.

"Fifty Thousand Each and I'll let it slide," she said.

Ion's eyes widened at the ultimatum. "Take it man, would you rather get swarmed by info brokers and swordsmen?" Ren said.

Ion sighed and sent the money crazed redhead a trade request, where he then sent her the five-digit number.

"Great, pleasure doing business," Dagger smiled.

Kirito reluctantly also sent a request to her, also giving her the money needed.

"How could you keep this sort of thing from your buddies?" Klein spoke back up.

"Yeah, I'm hurt that you chose to hide this thing from me and Silica, Ion," Angel gave a small glare.

"Well, it just popped up in my inventory one day after maxing my speed stat," Ion shrugged.

"Mine appeared around a month ago, that was when I asked Asuna to point me to Liz's smithy," Kirito added.

"Well some people would be mad about this but not me, but you're right, there would definitely be people that would be pissed at you for this sort of thing," Klein nodded. He then gave a sly grin, "And that…"

Ion rolled his eyes as he was talking about Asuna, who hadn't let go of Kirito yet, he pushed himself to his feet, and sheathed his estoc with a twirl before sliding it into the scabbard across his waist.

"We're gonna go trigger the warp gate, you comin'?" He asked.

"I think we'll call it a day," Kirito declined.

"I hear that," Klein chuckled, he turned to Ion and Ren. "You guys coming?"

"I think we'll head back too," Ion shook his head. "I'm exhausted."

"We'll go with you Klein, then once we got the warp gate active, these guys can go home," Ren said, pointing a thumb at the ALF guys in the back.

"You guys have a safe trip back, and keep strong," Klein said, and signaled his guild to start heading for the stairs.

Wyvern's Inferno followed after him, and the Army guys stayed close.

"Right, let's get back home," Angel stretched her arms. She pulled out a teleport crystal. Ion and Silica nodded, and did the same.

"Kirito," Ion said, before they left. "Take care man, don't do anything you'll regret."

"And you too," Kirito chuckled.

"Teleport! Selmburg!" The three called out, and disappeared a blue glow.

* * *

Ion sat down in their player home sitting room in an armchair. Angel and Silica both sat down on the couch around the table to the left, and gave him a look.

Ion sighed, "I know, I probably should have told you about it the moment I got it," he admitted.

"It's ok, but don't hide anything like this again," Angel told him.

"Yeah, come on, we've been a team for a while now, from back on floor twenty-one. One of the things we agreed was to not keep secrets from each other," Silica agreed. "But since it was something like a unique skill, I'll let it slide this once."

"Thanks guys, you two are the second and third most important people in the best of both worlds," Ion smiled. "My sister obviously is the top spot, but then there's my girlfriend, whom which I love dearly, and then there's my first true friend in the game."

The three sat there for a bit longer, before heading to sleep.

* * *

Next morning, Ion awoke to find a message alert on his heads-up-display. Opening it, he saw it was a message from Asuna.

'Commander Heathcliff challenged Kirito to a duel just for the fact I said I was teaming up with him for a while! And if Kirito loses, he has to join the KoB! They're having the duel on Floor 75 if you want to come and watch?' he read silently.

"Ion! Kirito's been challenged by Heathcliff!" Angel called, coming into the room.

"I know, I just saw the message!" Ion nodded. He equipped his shirt and pants with a quick few commands.

He then sent a return message to Asuna, 'When is it on?'

A reply hit almost immediately, '1:00 PM,' was all that was in it.

"It's at one," he said. The smell of food wafted upstairs, "Which means we can head up to Colonia after we have had breakfast!" With that, he dashed from the room.

Angel gave a giggle, before following him down, as she did, she got a weird feeling… maybe she should watch Kirito's back for a bit…

* * *

 **Ion: It is good to be back in action!**

 **Kirito: Hell yeah.**

 **Angel: What's next man?**

 **Ion: Well, I think I'm going to put the POV of the next chapter back in your eyes.**

 **Silica: Why?**

 **Ion: Next time: Loose Ends!**


	9. Chapter 9: Loose Ends

**I had fun with this one! It's odd, writing different stuff to Watchman, so I always enjoy the challenge that is presented.**

 **Either way, I only own my OCs, TheSib owns his, SAO belongs to my boi Reki Kawahara.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Loose Ends**

 **Title Song: The Humbling River by Puscifier (Awesome song)**

* * *

Angel yawned as she, Ion and Silica stepped off the teleport gate onto Floor Seventy-Five.

Ion led the two girls towards the arena, where Asuna had promised to meet them. There was a humungous queue, stretching back at least halfway between the plaza and the coliseum, all wanting to access seats to witness what was going to be a great fight.

"Over here!" Their heads turned, seeing Asuna herself waving from a tunnel entrance. She guided them down to where Kirito was sat by the entry to the arena, going over his stats and making sure they were absolutely spotless for today's event.

"What did I say?" Ion asked, as he approached the Black Swordsman.

"Don't do anything I'll regret, I know. But he approached me for this. I couldn't exactly back down, could I?" Kirito shrugged.

"I suppose so, but if you end up in white, I'm not handing over my moniker to you," Ion chuckled.

"Kirito in white… Asuna! When he loses, you have to snap a picture of him in the polar opposite to this," Angel giggled, pulling on Kirito's sleeve.

"Blackmail material is good fun, but don't count Kirito down yet," Silica said. They all stopped the banter when they saw she looked worried.

"When you two unleashed your unique skills yesterday… I had never seen anything like it… apart from Ren's Crimson Flash. Regardless, the Commander has his own unique skill," Asuna said.

"I know, I've seen it. The Divine Blade," Kirito said. "It maximizes his offence and defense capability. His attack is strong, but his guard is almost untouchable."

"No one has ever seen Heathcliff's HP drop into the yellow zone before," Angel spoke up. "Not a good stat to meet, Mr-on-one-HP-after-solo-ing-a-floor-boss!"

Trumpets were heard from the gate, "That's my cue," Kirito said, and stood up.

"Be careful out there," Ion called. Kirito waved a hand back before heading into the light.

Angel turned to Angel, "Got the best seats in the house?" she asked.

"I saved you some seats between Wyvern's Inferno and Furinkazan, Dagger's set up a betting stand, and from what I heard, she's got quite a collection of customers," She said. "On the face right above us."

* * *

"There they are!" Helios' voice was heard, as Ion, Angel and Silica slotted in between Mai and Dale.

"We miss anything yet?" Silica asked, her hand automatically going into Mai's popcorn bucket and grabbing a handful.

"Only the painful calm before the storm," Issin, one of Klein's guys, said.

Klein himself was being rather quiet, his eyes focusing on Kirito below, "You got this buddy," he murmured.

Ren too had gone quiet, his eyes also not letting Kirito out of his sight, "Don't hold back," He muttered.

Angel glanced back and forth from the two, she already knew that Klein and Ren had been taught how to play SAO back on day one by Kirito. And from then, they had forged a great bond. However, Kirito always felt guilty about leaving the two rookies behind and setting out as a solo player.

Finally, the countdown began, and everyone waited to see who would strike first. Kirito drew his twin swords, while Heathcliff drew a longsword from behind his shield.

When the countdown hit zero, Kirito rushed forward with a flurry of strikes. Heathcliff nimbly moved his shield to block each one, then swung it forward, catching Kirito in the chest and sending him sprawling.

He was quickly back in the fight, activating a sword skill and pushing past the shield.

"Your reaction times are very impressive," Heathcliff said.

"And your defense is impregnable!" Kirito casually shot back. Then he rushed back in again, his two swords glowing a bright blue as he activated Starburst Stream, his blades becoming a frenzy of motion as he did everything he could to break Heathcliff's defense.

Angel felt her hand squeeze, and turned her head to see Ion gripping it tightly. Glancing up at his face, she saw him with a steady gaze, but there was clearly worry in his eyes.

Looking down, Heathcliff and Kirito were going at it at full speed now, their blades and shield not stopping for more than a couple of seconds. Kirito then dropped another Starburst into the picture, and Angel took note of Heathcliff's arm starting to slack just the slightest.

Kirito's twin blades came up, and completely knocked aside the massive shield, and he then wasted no time in moving for the winning blow.

But to the shock of everyone along Angel's row of seats, it was over, and not in the way they had expected.

Angel blinked, she had seen it herself. In the seconds before- no… the time _between the seconds_ , Heathcliff's shield was coming back up to an angle where it deflected Kirito's sword. Then his own blade stabbed out, knocking Kirito to the ground.

Then the stats were in, and the fight ended, with Heathcliff as the victor. Angel then registered that Ion had stood up in shock, and he wasn't the only one, several of Furinkazan and Wyvern's Inferno had also stood up at the sudden end to the fight.

"How…?" Ren asked.

"That's impossible!" Klein equally was dumbstruck.

"It could have been the divine blade…" Silica spoke up.

"That's the only explanation," Alice said.

Angel silently agreed, unable to come up with any alternate solution, she had never seen speed like that from anyone.

* * *

"What shall we do now?" Ion asked, as they walked out of the arena.

"Should we explore Colonia? We haven't done that yet, have we?" Silica asked.

"That sounds pretty good, Angel?" Ion asked his girlfriend.

Angel shook her head, and looked away, "Maybe another time, I have someone I was going to meet with today," she said with a smile.

"Ok… Hey, you let me know if something's bugging you," Ion said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll see you guys later," she said, and headed to the Teleport gate.

"Teleport: Grandzam," she said, and vanished in a veil of blue light.

* * *

Floor 55: Grandzam

* * *

Kirito walked calmly towards the western gate, to meet up with the KoB frontline commander, Godfrey. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his new white coat, and sighed.

Kirito did not like white.

He spotted the joyful Knights officer ahead, waving cheerfully. "Hey kid!" He called, and pulled another person out from out of sight.

Kirito frowned when he saw who it was. Kuradeel.

"Ok, what the hell is this? Didn't Asuna have him kicked out of the guild?" He asked.

"The Commander removed him from bodyguard duties completely, knowing that Lady Asuna can take care of herself. However, he believes in second chances, and decided to put Kuradeel under my direct command," Godfrey said.

"Seriously?" Kirito sighed.

"Commander Heathcliff also told me about your little scuffle a few days ago, and I thought that if we're gonna be in the same guild, we should bury the old hatchet and work together," Godfrey went on.

Kuradeel looked down at Kirito, "I would like to apologize for my actions the other day. It was wrong of me and I shouldn't have acted as I did," he said, bowing low.

Inwardly, Kirito knew there was something up with this guy, he was acting too… nice. Outwardly, he just nodded.

"Cool." Godfrey grinned. "Now today I'll be examining how you react to situations in the field, so I'll need you to hand over all the crystals in your storage."

Kirito frowned again, "Even my HP crystals?" He asked.

"Yep, come on," Godfrey nodded. Kuradeel didn't complain, handing over his crystals.

Kirito sighed, and complied, putting his own crystals on top of the pile. Godfrey looked down at them, then grinned. "Awesome! Let's go clear a dungeon!" He laughed.

"Yay…!" Kirito and Kuradeel both cheered, voices dripping with sarcasm.

As they set out for the exit gate for the fields, Kirito's maxed out detection skill pinged, and he glanced around, spotting a tiny flash of gold disappearing back into the bushes.

"Something wrong kid?" Godfrey asked.

Kirito hid a shadow of a smirk, "It's nothing, let's go," He said.

Behind the bush, Angel gave a snarl. _What the actual hell?! Kuradeel!?_ She asked. Asuna had told her about his track record before their meeting at the teleport gate on seventy-four. He was a slippery character, that was for sure.

Watching the three retreating backs, she equipped a hood, which had the blessing of hiding her long golden hair. Then, she stealthily took off after them, making sure not to get too close.

* * *

Floor 55: Dungeon

* * *

Kirito repressed a yawn, he could have better hunts in his sleep. Floor fifty-five was far too easy for him, but he kept up with Godfrey and Kuradeel, who were also doing rather well.

"Alright, this looks like a good spot to take a break," Godfrey said, as they entered a clearing. "I'll distribute the rations."

Kirito caught a small brown bag tossed his way with ease, and sat down to open it. When he saw the most basic meal of a bread roll and a bottle of water, he sighed. If he had been with Asuna, this would be one of her legendary sandwiches.

He pulled out the water, and took a swig, as he did, he noticed something weird.

Kuradeel was watching him with a strange look, like he was waiting for something.

It was at that moment, that Kirito finally figured it out, but it was too late. He tossed the bottle away, but fell backwards as a poison icon appeared next to his HP.

Godfrey too collapsed. And Kuradeel gave a crazy laugh. "Poor old Godfrey! I always thought you were a complete idiot, but this is just too much!" He smirked.

"You packed the water Kuradeel, what the hell!" Godfrey growled.

"Antidote crystals!" Kirito grunted. This was why he was hesitant to hand them over back at the HQ.

Kuradeel lunged out, and kicked the green crystals out of his hand.

Kirito noticed his detection skill ping again, and his eyes instantly followed the alert to where he spotted a shadow at the top of the cliff.

"Here's my plan," Kuradeel caught his attention again, drawing his sword. "We were walking along, when a bunch of red players ambushed us," He brought the blade down, hitting the back of Godfrey.

"You both perished, but I valiantly fought them off-!" Kuradeel was suddenly floored, and Kirito's eyes widened as he saw a spear sticking out of the madman's shoulder.

"You should have left the KoB, retired and found a nice little home," A female voice echoed through the canyon.

"Who's there?!" Kuradeel snarled, ripping the spear out of his shoulder and standing up.

"But no. You had to go for revenge against the swordsman who humiliated you in front of an audience," the voice called out.

"Show yourself!" Kuradeel yelled, his head snapping around, trying to find the source of the attack.

"And by doing so, you have signed your ticket for a trip to either the slammer, or oblivion," the voice finished.

"Stop hiding coward!" The madman snapped.

"As you wish…" the voice sounded disappointed, but amused. Kirito's eyes widened at the sight of a player sliding down the side of the cliff face, riding on a metal pole before kicking off it and landing in a silent crouch, the pole landing in their hand.

"Who are you…!" Kuradeel demanded, his sword pointed at the new appearance.

"I am known by a few names, The Spear Hunter, The Shadow Stalker, but my favorite, is The Daughter of Darkness," the figure spoke. She was wearing a tight black jacket with purple straps in a cross across the front and back, her arms were covered in black cloth and she was wearing a pair of leather gauntlets. She was also wearing a pair of black, tight pants, which went down into a pair of black boots.

In her hand was a spear that was black all over, with red details on the blade and the polearm, and her head was covered by a black hood, which had a cowl which hid her mouth and nose, only showing her piercing amethyst colored eyes.

"… Angel?" Kirito gasped out.

"Yep, sorry for stalking you fellas, but ever since that fight with this guy on floor seventy-four, I've been keeping my ears open regarding him, and I discovered a nasty little truth about him," Angel said, pulling down her cowl and her hood.

"This guy is actually a member of Laughing Coffin," she spoke clearly. "Isn't that right, scum?"

"Guess there's no hiding the secret now," Kuradeel smirked, and tapped his gauntlets, revealing a small little cosmetic on his skin.

It was a black coffin, with a face in it. Behind the face was a strange shape, like the tip of a sword and off to the right of the face was a skeleton arm. Everyone shivered at the sight of the mark for Laughing Coffin.

"They're the reason I learnt to poison these two idiots," Kuradeel grinned.

Angel pulled a small glowing crystal out of her pocket, and gave a grin of her own. "Smile for the camera doofus," she grinned, taking a picture of the man with the emblem exposed.

"You won't be able to talk your way out anymore," she said, putting the item in her inventory. "And even if you do manage to kill me, my boyfriend will still have it in his inventory, since we share storage."

 _Nice bluff_ , Kirito thought. Ion and Angel would have told their closest friends if they had married yet.

"You have two options now," Angel said. "You either surrender and I haul you back to Heathcliff on your knees, or you die here."

"I'll take the third option," Kuradeel growled. "Attack!"

With that, he ran forward, sword glowing yellow and coming down vertically.

Angel rolled her eyes, and activated her own skill, her spear lighting up green, horizontally coming up to slam into the sword from the side.

"You didn't learn at all did you?" She asked. Kuradeel glared at her. "That was the exact same move you made the other day."

They broke away, Angel casually closing her eyes, hearing a clatter behind her. Turning around, she gave a smirk when she saw Kuradeel on his knees, and pixels drifting away from his body.

"Got you," she said, walking towards him, going into her menu to pull out some rope. She therefore only saw Kuradeel's dagger slashing at her chest at the last second, and that was all he needed, getting a hit on her breast.

Angel dropped to the ground with surprise, and her eyes widened as she saw a paralysis icon next to her HP. _Damn it!_ She growled.

"One of the oldest tricks in the book!" Kuradeel laughed. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy play time with you after I'm done with these two," he gave a creepy grin.

Angel shivered at his expression, at that moment, a white, red and chestnut blur slammed into him, with a green explosion of energy.

"Perfect timing Asuna," Angel grunted. "Toss us some antidote crystals, will you?"

Asuna fished three green crystals from her pouch, and tossed them to the three players.

"Hang back you guys," She said, drawing her rapier with a dark look on her face. "I'll take care of the traitor here."

"Be careful! He's a slippery bastard!" Angel warned her.

"A-Asuna! This isn't what it looks like! I-!" Kuradeel's attempt at talking his way out failed as Asuna's rapier shot past his cheek, drawing HP.

She then became a blur as she activated Quadruple Pain multiple times, rapidly draining the traitor's HP to a dangerous red.

"Wait!" Kuradeel yelped. "I'll leave the guild! You'll never see me again! Please don't kill me!"

Angel rolled her eyes at the pathetic behavior, Asuna ceased her attack, backing up.

Kuradeel laughed, grabbing her arm and yanking Lambent Light from her grip.

"The oldest trick in the book! And you fell for it bitch!" Kuradeel screeched with delight, the rapier swinging down towards her.

A black blur shot forward, and the sound of metal against flesh was heard. Angel's eyes widened as Kirito stood before Asuna, arm raised. Then she saw the hand that was falling from his side, then shattered.

Kirito gave out a war cry, activating a martial arts skill and jabbing his remaining hand through Kuradeel's avatar, taking out the last of his HP.

"God damn you bastard… you murdered me…" Kuradeel gave a smirk, before shattering into pixels.

"Good riddance," Angel said, glad to see the vile man vanish.

Godfrey walked up next to her, "I owe you some thanks, if you haven't tailed us, we'd both probably be dead," He said, holding out an arm.

"Think nothing of it big man, it's all in a day's work for the Daughter of Darkness," Angel smirked, taking the arm for a handshake.

Her eyes widened as she spotted the kiss that was being shared by the other two players, "Let's leave them for some privacy, I ask that you bring me before your leader," Angel said.

"Sure thing," Godfrey nodded. Both pulled out teleport crystals.

"Teleport: Grandzam," they both called out.

* * *

"I see," Heathcliff sighed. "Angel, you have my most sincere gratitude for helping Kirito and Godfrey." He said.

"And…?" Angel pressed.

"And I apologize for allowing Kuradeel a second chance, Asuna was right all along. He was a wildcard," Heathcliff added.

"Thank you," Angel smiled. She pulled an item out of her inventory. "Here, this is photographic evidence of Kuradeel's involvement in the foul deeds." She opened the photo she took of the man caught in the act.

"I ask that you hand it over to me, I must make sure to put it into the minds of the troops that this must never happen again," Heathcliff said.

"Sure thing, I want nothing to do with him ever again," Angel nodded, tossing the camera crystal to the commander, who caught it with ease.

"And with that, I take my leave," she bowed, and headed for the door. "See you around, commander."

* * *

Floor 61: Selmburg

* * *

Angel stretched her arms as she returned to her shared player home in Selmburg, shrugging off her coat and putting it on the coat stand with Ion's white coat and Silica's blue jacket.

 _It's late… wonder if the others are in bed?_ She thought.

"You were gone a while," her head turned to see Ion sat in the armchair.

 _At least he's up…_ she sighed.

"Asuna messaged me. You said you had given up that work for good!" He told her, standing up.

"I did! But something struck out as weird to me, I knew Kuradeel was trouble, and I had to make sure that Kirito would be safe," Angel shot back.

"What does that mean?" Ion asked.

"You've made it pretty clear from your interactions with him, that you know each other IRL," Angel folded her arms. "I wanted to make sure your friend was unharmed, and because of me, he and Godfrey are safe, and Kuradeel is gone for good."

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Ion's expression softened.

"No. Kirito did… I'm sorry for making you worry," Angel sighed.

"No. I'm sorry for yelling and worrying, I know you can take care of yourself…" Ion pulled her in to an embrace.

"Glad to see you two are ok," both turned to see Silica on the bottom step of the stairs in a green nightie and matching nightcap. "Now could you keep the noise down? Some of us are trying to sleep now."

"Sorry Silica, go on back to bed," Angel smiled at her.

The girl didn't need telling twice, walking back up the stairs while yawning. Ion turned to Angel.

"Shall we head up as well?" He asked.

"Sure, it's been a long day. I'm ready for bed," Angel yawned.

Hand in hand, the couple headed up the stairs, and went into Ion's room. Aurora was sleeping in her basket at the end of their bed, but looked up blearily at the intruders.

Both players walked up to the bed, Ion on one side and Angel in the other. They turned around and opened their inventories, changing outfits around for bed.

Then with a brief goodnight to their other half, the two fell asleep without another word.

* * *

 **Ion: So?**

 **Kirito: Not bad at all.**

 **Angel: I won't argue, and Kuradeel almost sounded scary in that moment.**

 **Emma: She's right.**

 **Silica: What's next?**

 **All: Next time: The Girl of Morning Dew!**


	10. Chapter 10: Girl of Morning Dew

**Hello, hello! I am back to Aincrad for another chapter!**

 **Went to go see SAO:OS. Holy Hell was that a good movie or what? The animation was flawless and the action was juicy as ever! Everyone got some shine time in the film, Klein and his guys, Silica, Liz, Agil, Sinon. Hell, even Yui got to have a badass moment or two!**

 **Without further ado, let's get right into the chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Girl of Morning Dew**

 **Title Song: Longing by Sakaya Kanda (AKA Yuna from OS)**

* * *

Floor 34: Menagerie

* * *

"Man, we needed this," Ion grunted, stretching back in a deck chair.

"You know it!" The girls nodded together, also in chairs of their own.

The three had earned a vacation from their impromptu boss raid, and also to relax for a bit, therefore, they decided to rent a pair of suites on the beach level of Aincrad, allowing them all for some R and R.

Ion was wearing a white tank top that left his arms bare, and a pair of black shorts. A blue pair of sunglasses were over his eyes.

Angel was wearing a purple crop top that left her stomach exposed, and a black skirt that went to just before her knees. She had decided to cut her hair, reducing it to just past her shoulders.

Silica was currently wearing a red summer dress with golden trims at the sleeves, collar and base, her hair was in a single ponytail instead of her usual look.

Aurora and Pina both agreed, resting beside their respective masters.

"Why don't we go visit Kirito and Asuna in a bit?" Silica asked.

"That sounds like a good idea," Angel nodded. After the incident with Kuradeel, Kirito and Asuna got married, and left the frontlines as well, for some much-needed relaxation, they had bought a cozy little cabin down on floor twenty-two, the lake district equivalent in Aincrad.

"I'm down with that," Ion agreed.

The three headed out of the inn, and headed along the seafront up to the Teleport gate, as they walked, they watched all the different activities happening on the beach, including volleyball, surfing, kite flying and all sorts of other games.

Stepping onto the gate, they all nodded. "Teleport! Coral!" And vanished in a blue glow.

* * *

 **Floor 22: Coral**

* * *

Kirito scratched his head, glancing down at the sleeping child that was resting in the armchair. On their way to the lake yesterday, he and Asuna had found the girl passed out in the forest. Cancelling their adventure, the couple brought her back to their cabin.

Then, this morning, she had finally woken up, and revealed she had no memories other than her name, Yui. "So. What do we do?" He asked.

"I don't know, it's like she's reverted to a baby…" Asuna frowned.

"You're right, she's a blank slate. No memories…" Kirito nodded.

They kept thinking until they heard a knock at the door, Kirito reached for Elucidator, which was resting nearby, and opened it.

"Yo, I hope you weren't planning to use that on us," Ion smirked. Angel and Silica both stood at his flanks, and Aurora and Pina were on Ion's shoulder and Silica's head respectively.

"You guys? What're you doing here?" Kirito asked, putting Elucidator down.

"Can't some BFFs come visit our pals now and then?" Angel asked with a raised eyebrow. Silica just waved with a smile.

"Sure, come in," Kirito nodded, and moved to let them in.

Ion glanced around the small cabin, "Cozy," he commented. "I could get used to this place."

"Don't forget it belongs to Kirito and Asuna," Silica reminded him.

Angel spotted the child in the chair, with black hair and a snow-white summer dress, "Who's the kid?" she asked. Then her eyes widened, "Don't tell me you-?"

Asuna was quick to answer, "N-No! We found her in the forest on the way down to the lake," she said.

"Huh… Wonder who she is then?" Ion asked, his eyes then softened at the sight of her.

Silica was first to notice, "Ion? What's up?" She asked.

"She looks exactly like my sister did when she was ten years old," Ion answered.

Everyone felt sympathetic to the Arctic Swordsman, "Then you can be the uncle until we sort this all out," Kirito chuckled.

"Huh?" Asked Angel.

"She's calling us Mama and Papa," Asuna clarified.

At that moment, the girl seemed to stir, waking at the sound of new voices around her. She saw the new faces in the room and turned to Kirito with a puzzled look.

"Yui, these are our friends, Silica, Angel and Ion," He said, pointing to each one in turn. Aurora hopped down onto Yui's lap from Ion's shoulder, and looked up at the small girl with a happy look.

"Puppy," she giggled, stroking her fur.

Everyone smiled at the adorable act. Ion turned to Kirito, "What's the plan then?" He asked.

"She could have come from the orphanage…" Angel muttered.

Everyone looked at her, "Orphanage?" Asuna asked.

"On Floor One, there's an orphanage for children who lost their parents or dived on their own," Angel explained. "Yui could have come from there."

Kirito nodded, "I heard about that place, sounds like a good place to start," He agreed.

* * *

 **Floor 1: Town of Beginnings**

* * *

The Town of Beginnings teleport gate lit up, and off stepped the five frontliners. They all stopped, and glanced up at the sky, remembering back to that fateful day.

Ion remembered settling down in an inn for the night, before setting out the following morning.

Silica remembered her terrified scream that plunged the plaza into chaos.

Angel remembered grinding all night, getting up her level as high as it could go from the monsters outside.

Kirito remembered leaving Ren and Klein behind and going solo.

And Asuna remembered crying herself to sleep in an inn, unable to comprehend the situation she was in.

"Hard to believe this is where it all started…" Angel muttered.

"Yeah, it's been two years," Kirito nodded.

"Kayaba's still out there, watching…" Ion said.

"We'll get him one day," Asuna assured him.

Angel led the way to the church, "Hey, Kirito? How many players are still alive in Aincrad?" Asuna asked.

"About six thousand, and about half of that live here in the ToB," Kirito replied.

"Then don't you reckon the streets are a little… bare," Ion remarked with a frown.

"Now that you mention it…" Silica said, glancing around, there wasn't a soul in sight, only NPCs behind their stalls.

"Leave them alone!" A female voice spoke up. Angel stiffened, before summoning her spear and rushing towards the origin. Ion and Silica glanced at each other, before following, with Kirito and Asuna in pursuit.

Angel grit her teeth, spotting her old friend Sasha being blocked by a few ALF troops, "Sasha!" She called, running up to her.

"Angel?" The older woman asked. "Gin, Mina and Kade are over there," she pointed past the squad to where three kids were standing in fear.

The blonde's eyes widened, "You bastards will rob kids of all they own?!" she demanded.

"Hey girl, what's it to you?" One asked.

Another chuckled, "Yeah, you don't know them, so get lost!"

Angel sighed, before running towards them, jammed her spear into the ground, and vaulted clear over them to the kids' side. Ion, Asuna, Kirito and Silica all approached, leaping over with ease as well.

"Who the hell are you?" One goon asked.

"I got this," another walked up to the front. "You must be new in town, because we're the Aincrad Liberation Force and you do not mess with us!" He drew his sword.

"You guys are pathetic," Ion growled, reaching for his estoc.

"Ion, I got this, you take care of the kids," Angel said.

The leader looked amused by her glare, and her spear held tip up. "What?" He asked.

"Sasha, I'd move," Angel simply said, before her spear lit up red. The woman behind them nodded, moving to the side of the street, as Angel grabbed her weapon by the blunt end and spun around, her weapon shaft connecting with the front row.

"Get lost!" she growled, all nine ALF soldiers were knocked far down the alleyway, ending up in a pile of limbs at the far end.

They looked up at her, and noticed this almost… demonic aura surrounding her, and her eyes carrying a look of pure hatred. "Go back to your boss and tell him that if he wants to steal from children, he'll have to go through me," she said, her voice dripping with fury.

The ALF men all quickly got to their feet, and ran for it. Angel sighed, putting her spear back into her inventory and turning to Sasha. "They didn't hurt you at all, did they?" She asked.

She shook her head, "No, I'm fine, thanks to you."

"What's wrong Yui?" Kirito asked.

"Their hearts…" Ion and Angel looked back to see the girl reaching up at the sky. "Everyone's hearts are…"

"Yui?" Asuna asked.

"I… was never here in this place…. I was always alone… in the dark…" Yui muttered, clamping to Kirito. Then she jolted, looking terrified, and screamed, as a strange wave of static washed over the group.

Ion was about to cover his ears from the noise, but his eyes widened as he saw Yui falling backwards. "Yui!" He yelled, shooting forward to grab the small girl before she hit the ground.

She put her arms around him, "Uncle… I'm scared!" She whined.

Ion put a hand on her head, and stroked gently, "It's alright kid, you'll never be alone again, I promise," he said calmly. _What the hell was that static?_ He thought, _it couldn't have come from her… could it?_

* * *

The following morning, the six met at the church doors, Ion noticed Yui was feeling a lot better this morning. Angel smiled, "Right, show time," she said, knocking in a specific pattern.

Sasha opened it a moment later, "Angel, I've been expecting you, come on in," She said, letting them all past.

"Angel's here!" A kid called out.

"Angel?" Another asked, looking up.

"It is!" A third giggled. "It's big sister!"

Ion and Silica both were beyond surprised to see a small army of kids run up to their friend. "Did you bring any presents?" A kid asked.

"Mina told us how you beat up those nasty army guys!" A girl cheered.

Angel waved her arms, "Alright kids, settle down!" She laughed. "First, I'd like you to meet my friends, Ion, Silica, Kirito and Asuna," she said, pointing at each in that order.

"Wow, are you guys part of the assault team too?" A boy asked.

"I bet you've beaten lots of monsters!" Another grinned.

"Are those pets?" A girl asked.

"I didn't know they were in the game!" Another girl pouted.

Ion scratched his head, he loved kids, but this was weird.

Eventually, the kids settled down, and Sasha dished out breakfast with Angel and Asuna's help. Ion offered to help get the cutlery needed, while Silica got plenty of juice mugs out for them.

So while the kids ate together, the frontliners and Yui sat with Sasha at a table off to the side. Kirito and Ion both glanced around at the smiling innocence.

"There's so many of them…" The former noted.

"I know, it's like this every day," Sasha nodded, pouring some tea for her guests.

A child came over, and gave her bread to Angel. She took it, and patted the girl on the head, "Sasha's been running this place since she was with the frontlines on floor twenty-three. She found Gin, Mina and some other kids and decided that she would benefit better from taking care of all orphaned kids."

"A truly noble cause," Ion smiled, watching as the girl sat back down next to Mina.

"Just doing what I can," Sasha shrugged. She glanced over at Yui, who was in a cute pink sweater and blue skirt. "How's Yui this morning?"

"Well, she got a good night sleep, so I think she's back to normal," Kirito smiled.

"Has anything like this happened before?" Sasha asked.

Asuna shook her head, "We have no idea, we found her in the forest of floor twenty-two a couple days ago. Poor thing. She's lost her memory."

"Which is why we came to seek you out, recognize her?" Angel asked.

"I'm afraid not, I mean, I take care of a lot of kids, but Yui is a new one to me," Sasha sighed.

Everyone deflated, back to square one. At that moment, three sharp knocks banged against the door.

Sasha stood to go answer it, and Ion, Angel and Kirito went with her. The door opened to reveal a woman with silver hair tied up in a short ponytail, she was wearing the colors of the ALF, which made Ion wary immediately.

"Sorry to bother you, my name is Yulier," she introduced herself with a short bow.

"You may dispense with the pleasantries, grunt. After the crap we saw yesterday, my faith for your guild is gone," Angel growled. Ion jabbed her in the ribs, his head flicking to Yui and all the kids inside, several of which had paused to see what was going on.

"Calm down, I came here to thank you for putting those men in their place," Yulier said.

"What do you mean?" Ion asked.

"In fact, I have come asking for your help," Yulier admitted.

Sasha invited the woman in, and they all went into a separate room, with Silica, Asuna and Yui following along.

There weren't enough seats for the whole gang, so Ion just leaned against the wall. "So, what's this about?" He asked.

"When the guild was formed, we… or it was our leader, Thinker. He never wanted it to turn into the dictatorial organization it's become," She began. "At first, the mission of the guild was to share information, resources and food equally amongst as many players as possible."

"But the ALF grew too large, didn't it?" Kirito asked.

"Correct," Yulier nodded. "After much infighting, one man became very powerful. His name is Kibaou."

At the mention of the cactus head, Ion, Angel, Kirito and Asuna shared a glance of disappointment. "What did that complete... moron do this time?" Ion asked, choosing to use kid friendly words in front of Yui.

"Kibaou and his group became stronger and stronger, monopolizing all the best monster spawn points. They're out of control," Yulier explained. "They now extort players in the town, under the pretext of collecting 'taxes'."

Angel restrained a snarl, "This man is the one behind this town's dead feeling?! Why isn't he behind bars yet?" She demanded.

"It became evident that Kibaou had no interest in clearing the game anymore, and this made a lot of players mad. Knowing he had to do something to get back their good graces, he sent a legion of his highest-level men to the frontlines," Yulier said.

Silica gasped, "Corvats!" She realized. Ion nodded, thinking the same thing.

"Kibaou was denounced after spearheading that massacre," Yulier nodded. "That was when we started considering kicking him out of the guild for good. Now that he's scared and desperate, he's decided to eliminate Thinker."

Everyone leaned closer, interest peaking. "He set a trap, and stranded Thinker deep inside a dungeon," Yulier said.

Kirito and Asuna gasped, "Does he have any teleport crystals?" the former asked, causing Yulier to shake her head.

"Weapons?" Asuna asked.

"He didn't take anything with him, Kibaou said he wanted to talk, unarmed," Yulier sighed.

Ion resisted face palming, "A peace talk. That was held. In a dungeon."

Angel rolled her eyes, "Oh sure, come on out to my tea party in the middle of this minefield! Never mind the razor wire, _we have crumpets_!"

"Guys, stop," Kirito told them.

"Can't Thinker find his way out?" Asuna asked.

"The dungeon is the highest we've seen before, he can't get out. On top of that, I don't have the level to reach him, and Kibaou is forbidding the other guild members from helping me," Yulier admitted.

"Say no more," Kirito said. "We'll help you get Thinker back."

* * *

Teams were decided, Angel and Silica remained with Sasha and the orphanage while Kirito, Asuna, Ion and Yui (Who had insisted on tagging along) went with Yulier.

Angel had climbed up to the bell tower, and looked out across the city. She remembered how much of an ass Kibaou was back during the Illfang raid. Helios was an ass, but Kibaou was much worse, he blamed the beta testers for hording items and food, yet here they were, taking everything that belonged to innocent players.

She frowned, 'SAO has changed so many people,' she thought. 'Mom… dad… Kione… I wonder how you three are doing back home…'

Before she had unintentionally trapped herself in SAO, Angel was a martial arts expert and even helped teach a few classes at a local dojo. She sighed, those were the quiet days. Her mother was a jeweler, and her father was an armed police officer, someone that Angel always looked up to.

Her sharp hearing was quick to detect the sound of marching footsteps getting louder. Her eyes widened, as at least twenty soldiers all decked out in the ALF gear rounded the corner.

Not hesitating, she vaulted over the railing, and slid down the church roof to land before the large force of men, who were approaching the church door.

"That's far enough scum!" She announced.

A spikey haired man walked out from the middle of the brigade of troops. "You must be new in town, because I'm the guy in charge. These are my best troops, so move out of our way," he said.

"Shut that disgusting pie-hole of yours, cactus-head! Your dictatorship ends here!" Angel snapped.

Several of Kibaou's men snickered at the mocking. Kibaou himself was not amused, "The owner of that orphanage and her pack of rats have yet to pay this month's taxes, and they're long overdue. So we've got right to seize the building and arrest everyone here, if you do not move aside, you'll be coming in too."

Angel gave a snarl, "You think I'm going to stand down and let you kidnap my pack of rugrats? What kind of big sister would I be if I let them get taken by a slimeball and his army of grunts?" She said.

Kibaou grit his teeth, while he did, Angel settled into a stance, "If you want these kids, you'll have to get past me!" She snapped.

Silica appeared in the door behind her, Angel glanced back, "Lock the doors and don't let anyone in, or out!" She ordered. "I don't want any heroes!"

"Go men! It's just one girl! She's nothing!" Kibaou ordered to his men. A handful charged forwards, some reaching out with their hands while others reached for swords. Angel sidestepped the first goon, then kicked him in the back of the head. She then leapt off his falling back to slam her boot into the second soldier. She then bounced her leg off his chest, and the leg swept the neck of the third. All three quickly collapsed in a heap of limbs.

Another guy rushed up behind her and tried to clothesline her with his big arm. Angel ducked under the arm, and grabbed the soldier by his collar, throwing him up and over her before kicking him into another trooper trying to attack her.

Silica and Sasha both watched from a window, "Wow… I've never seen this side of her before," the former said.

"She's amazing," Sasha nodded.

Soldier number six ran at Angel with a sword, the daughter of darkness sidestepped, grabbing the man by his sword arm and pressing a nerve, causing the sword to drop. Angel then spun around, throwing six into a seventh man.

Number eight tried to sneak past, and move on to lock pick the door, but Angel kicked up the sword on the ground before punching it from the hilt towards the soldier, hitting him in the head and knocking him out cold.

Cheering could be heard inside the church, and Angel noticed that some of the kids were watching from the windows.

Four more men came charging at her. Angel blocked a punch from soldier nine and ten, then knocked both out with a retaliatory pair of punches that knocked both out, then she leapt up off them, carried out a front flip before landing with her feet in the faces of eleven and twelve.

She paused, looking at Kibaou, "Seriously? This is your most elite unit? I've fought worse foes in my sleep," she told him.

The remaining eight men hesitated to attack, and even more-so as Angel gave a petrifying glare their way. "Screw this! She's unbeatable!" One said, running off.

"Wait for us!" All the others cracked as well, running as fast as they could.

"Traitors!" Kibaou growled. He drew a large greatsword, and settled into a stance, "first I'll handle things here, then I'll go round up those cowards and throw them in the brig!"

Angel said nothing, just giving a challenge by beckoning him to attack her. Kibaou roared, and charged at her, sword lighting up with a sword skill.

His opponent took a stance, waiting for him to come to her. Angel then struck out as Kibaou's sword came down, jabbing several joints on his body, causing him to collapse in a heap.

"Hey! What'd you do to me?" He demanded.

"I hit all the nerves in your arms and legs, you won't be moving until I release you," Angel explained, kicking away the massive sword next to him.

"Let me go!" Kibaou commanded.

Angel crouched down to look at him in the face, "Fun fact, I don't listen to false kings," she said, and knocked him out with a punch to the face.

Silica and Sasha both pulled open the doors to see thirteen unconscious soldiers, one being the power-hungry man who headed them against the orphanage.

Angel pulled out a large coil of rope, "Finally have a use for the last of this stuff," She muttered. She turned to the other two, "Take some of this and tie them up."

* * *

The Town of Beginnings teleport gate lit up, and Ion stepped off, Aurora . Kirito and Asuna were still down there, but he knew they were both fine. However, when they had found Thinker, a powerful monster called the Fatal Scythe had attacked them.

Kirito, Asuna and Ion had been powerless against the monster, but Yui, who had revealed she was an AI, deleted the grim reaper with admin powers. But by doing so, she had gone against her programming, and against the system. The cost for her defiance was immediate termination.

Ion trudged back to the church, his eyes shadowed by his bangs. When he got there, he noticed several tied-up soldiers of the ALF, and Kibaou himself at the front of the group, also in rope.

Angel turned at seeing him return, "Ion! You're back!" She smiled, however, it faded when she saw the empty look in Ion's eyes.

Thinker and Yulier also saw the down-cast look. As Ion went into the church, Yulier turned to Angel. "Go. Be with your friend, we can handle the traitors here."

Ion sat on the window ledge in the back room, looking out the window. His hearing picked up the door opening, and Angel's and Silica's footfalls approaching. "Ion?" the former asked.

"Yui's gone," Ion muttered.

Angel's eyes widened, "What…?" She asked.

Ion turned to face them, his eyes leaking tears. "She saved our lives, but by doing so… she was deleted."

He explained to his friends about Yui's origins, how she was actually a mental health AI who had been broken by all the negativity in SAO, because she couldn't interact with any of the players as Kayaba had blocked her.

He also explained how she had used the admin console and deleted the Fatal Scythe monster down in the dungeon. And how Kirito had saved her data to his nervegear just before she had been completely deleted.

"I get it that there's a chance we'll see her again, but it's the sense that I watched a kid that looked like my sister vanish before my eyes," Ion sighed.

Angel pulled him into a hug, and rubbed his back, "Then we'll see her again, Kirito's a wizard when it comes to tech, so I have no doubts that he'll bring her back," she said.

Silica nodded, "Yeah, don't be sad Ion," She smiled sadly.

Ion wiped his eyes clear, "Sure, let's get back to the front. I've had enough of seeing all this death. Let's clear this game," He said, determination appearing on his face.

* * *

 **Ion: So I decided to do things differently this time.**

 **Angel: Yeah, last time, you wrote the story from the rescue team's perspective.**

 **Silica: This time, you wrote about the other team.**

 **Kirito: You say that, but Angel was a full blown demon this chapter!**

 **Asuna: I'll say, I sure wouldn't want to be on the recieving end of the punishment dealt out.**

 **Ion: Meh, I guess I wanted to show that Angel is just as dangerous even without her weapon.**

 **All: Next time: The Skull Reaper!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Skull Reaper

**Not much else to say really. Watched Mataras and JoshThePoser's livestream on friday (Staying up until 2AM England time to watch it!) Time for the Skull Reaper fight, and I hope I did it justice. I did link my story with TheSib's I  
**

 **Chapter 11: The Skull Reaper**

Ion walked towards the meeting room of the KoB headquarters. It was here that the leaders of the top guilds or small groups met to discuss tactics, usually about a boss raid.

As he walked through the corridors, he noticed that there was an oppressive feeling of fear drifting through the castle. Ion shivered involuntarily, why did he have a bad feeling about this?

One thing he noticed as he approached was Ren talking with Riku, the stealthiest player of Wyvern's Inferno. "… Half the recon team was wiped out," Riku was saying.

Ion's eyes widened, "What?" He and Ren asked. The former walked over to join them.

"There were twenty of us, ten went in first. The other half and me were about to follow when the doors slammed shut on us."

Ren and Ion glanced at each other, eyes widening. "What happened to them?" Ren asked his friend.

"The doors opened five minutes later, and all we saw was a sword standing up in the ground."

Ion closed his eyes, mourning their fallen comrades. "Heathcliff and the other higher-ups are inside," Riku said. "You'd better get in there.

Ion and Ren nodded, and walked into the meeting room. The boss man himself as well as Klein of Furinkazan, Lind of the Holy Dragon Alliance, Cyrus of Team Galactic and many more were all stood around a large wooden table.

Ion had thought about it a bit, and realized this was the Aincrad equivalent of the Knights of the Round Table, and Heathcliff himself carried the role of King Arthur.

"Ren, Ion, by the looks on your faces, you've already heard the news?" Heathcliff said, everyone took a seat.

"We have, and we don't like it," Ion nodded.

"Well, it is one of the four quarters of Aincrad, we were expecting a twist," Lind said.

"True, now we have an anti-crystal area as well as the doors locking behind us to worry about," Cyrus nodded.

"We're going to need the biggest raid team yet to beat whatever monster is behind those doors," Klein suggested.

"And there's the fact we're going in blind for this fight, we have no info to work with," Another guild leader said.

"Ren, I hate to put so much pressure on you, but can we count on you to figure out a plan of attack on the fly?" Heathcliff asked. Everyone looked at the chief tactician of the frontlines.

"I'll do my best, unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that we'll walk away from this one without losses," Ren nodded.

"Just do your best man, you've got us this far," Ion put a hand on his shoulder.

"We're also going to have to call back Kirito and Asuna. Given the circumstances, we cannot afford to go in without two of our best players," Heathcliff added.

Ion sighed, he was right. 'Sorry Kirito, honeymoon is over,' he thought with a frown.

Ren left with a shaken up Riku, and Ion sent a message to his little team, telling them to make sure they were one thousand percent ready for tomorrow.

'We're gonna need to bring our A-game tomorrow,' Ion thought. 'Once we go through those doors… it's do… or die.'

* * *

The next day, the teleport gate of floor seventy-five lit up and Ion, Silica and Angel all stepped off. They looked around, seeing Godfree overseeing the preparations of the KoB and the HDA's Schmidt was doing the same for his guild.

Klein was having a team huddle with his guild, but broke it as Ion walked over. "Hey lads," Ion nodded in greeting.

The guys all returned the nod or gave grins. "You three ready for the coming battle?" Klein asked.

"We are, weapons sharpened and our familiars pumped up to the max," Silica nodded. Pina gave a cheering chirp in agreement.

Aurora did the same from Ion's shoulder, howling eagerly, "Easy girl, don't get too pumped up yet," Ion chuckled.

"But it's always a good idea," the two groups turned to see Agil walking over, decked up in his full battle gear and his axe, called the Business Partner, was attached to his back. Most shockingly though was not him, but the pink-haired girl next to him.

"Agil! Glad to see you made it man," Ion grinned. "And Lizbeth? What are you doing here?"

"You already forgot that the Frontlines made me their chief blacksmith? After forging all those weapons with that ore, Heathcliff requested I move up to floor fifty-five and set up shop near the KoB HQ," Liz said. She was wearing a red/pink coat with a chestplate, shoulder pads, bracers and kneepads. She was also wearing a white pair of pants and brown boots. On her left arm was a buckler, and a mace hung at her right hip.

"You know me man, if the frontlines need all the manpower they can get, count me in!" Agil held out a fist.

Ion bumped it with his own, happy to see his friend back in action. The teleport gate lit up again, and off stepped Wyvern's Inferno. Ren, Alice, Helios, Dagger, Mai and Riku, all ready for today's battle.

"Wyverns, glad to see you all here," Angel smiled.

"Don't worry, we'll be alright now, I'm here," Helios grinned.

"Glad to see your ego is big enough for all of us," Liz commented dryly.

"We'll need it," Everyone turned and smiled as the Black Swordsman and Lightning Flash stepped off the teleport gate.

"Kirito, Asuna!" Alice beamed.

"Welcome back to the frontlines buddy," Klein smirked. "We missed ya."

"Heh. You remember to watch your back out there today Klein," Kirito said. He then glanced at Ren. "You too Ren."

"Don't worry Kirito, I'll keep this idiot from getting himself killed," Alice nudged Ren's shoulder.

"It's the same reason I'm here for Kirito," Asuna smiled.

"You two have the easy jobs, I have a thrill seeker to babysit," Angel poked Ion's cheek.

Ren, Kirito and Ion each grumbled as their other halves giggled together. Soon, another flash of light came from the teleport gate announced the arrival of Heathcliff himself, along with his elite unit composed of the KoB officers. They walked through the group, before stopping in front of the army of players.

He held up a large blue crystal called a corridor crystal. It was a handy device used to transport entire raid forces to a certain destination, like to a boss room.

"Corridor open."

The crystal shattered, and a portal appeared before him.

He turned back to everyone, "Well, here we go," He said, and walked through the gate.

Everyone glanced at each other, before, one by one, they started following him through.

"You feel that? There's a weird tension in the air," Asuna muttered.

"Whatever it is, it's coming from that room," Ion said. "And it's our job to clean it out."

Silica whimpered at the pressure in the air, and clamped onto Ion's arm out of nerves. Angel gripped her spear tightly.

Heathcliff slammed his shield down before him as he addressed the masses before him. "The Knights of the Blood Oath will be up front and draw it's attention. While we do that, everyone else will hang back and determine it's attack patterns. I know it'll be a tough battle, and perhaps not everyone will make it back, but we will prevail. For our day of liberation!"

Ion grit his teeth, "Not much of a plan, but it's all we can do," He sighed.

Everyone drew their weapons, preparing for battle. "Don't die guys," Kirito said.

"Same goes to you buddy," Klein grinned.

"I'll make a fortune off today's drops!" Agil smirked.

"Let's promise to meet up and celebrate after this victory," Ren chuckled.

"Stick close to me sis," Alice muttered to Mai, who nodded.

'Emma… Wish us luck in this battle…' Ion thought. Out loud, he said, "You know me man, I can watch my own back. But be careful Kirito."

Heathcliff thrust his sword forward. "Forward to battle!"

A collective roar was heard as the army charged into the room. Ion stopped when he saw the sword Riku had mentioned.

The doors slammed shut, and then vanished completely. "Well, that's just perfect," Helios remarked with a frown.

"No turning back now," Dale, one of Furinkazan, agreed.

Everyone scanned around the room, those with maxed out searching and detection skills were working overtime to detect the boss.

Angel felt a shiver up her spine, and glanced up. She then wished she hadn't, "Above us!" She yelled.

Ion followed her call, and looked up. He flinched when he saw their foe. It was a massive centipede made entirely of bones, at the front of the creature were two humungous scythes. It made a loud hissing sound as it was detected, and five HP gauges popped up next to it, followed by it's name.

"It's…" Agil gulped.

"The Skull Reaper!" Klein, Kirito and Ren all muttered.

Said monster hissed again, saying hello in it's own way. Ion then paled as he spotted all one hundred legs let go of the roof.

"Incoming!" He yelled. "Move away from the middle of the room! _NOW!_ "

No one argued with his advice, quickly rushing for safety, a couple players however were paralyzed with fear.

"What are you doing! This way! Hurry!" Kirito called. The players snapped out of their daze, but it was too late, the Skull Reaper slamming down behind them, causing the room to light up a bright red, before it reached out and completely cleaved the players in two.

Asuna, Helios and Riku made to grab them, but to everyone's horror, the players shattered before they reached the ground.

"That was with one hit!" Klein gulped.

Agil had to agree, "Oh man! We are _so_ dead!" He said, his voice laced with fear.

Silica looked up at Ion with fear, "What do we do?" She asked.

Ion narrowed his eyes, "What else? We beat it."

Skull Reaper came charging forward at a very high speed, about to slice another player into bits, but Heathcliff was suddenly there, his shield holding the scythe with ease. The boss however had two scythes, and moved past Heathcliff to kill another player with a single blow.

"That thing is way too fast for something it's size!" Alice muttered.

The massive centipede attacked again, but Kirito moved between it and it's target. It seemed apparent that the Black Swordsman was having problems holding it back though. Ion was about to move to assist, when Asuna jabbed between her partner's swords and knocked it back.

"Heathcliff, Asuna and I can handle the scythes! Everyone else attack it's flanks!" Kirito called.

Ion glanced at those to his immediate left and right, Ren, Klein and Cyrus all nodded, "Roger that buddy!" Klein smirked.

"Get in there!" Cyrus nodded, hefting his cavalry sword and buckler.

"Keep an eye out for any special attacks!" Ren added.

All four activated sword skills, charging in together. This inspired everyone else to snap out of their daze and attack.

* * *

Ion jabbed wherever he could, but having a thin sword definitely gave him a disadvantage in this fight. He paused, hopping back. Mai joined him, as did Saturn of Team Galactic, "The piercing weapons aren't having much of an effect on him," The blue haired commander observed.

"Yeah, this is the blunt weapon users' shine time," Mai nodded with a frown.

"Incoming!" Ion called, spotting the Reaper's tail lash out, trying to hit them. All three leapt aside quickly.

Silica spotted Jupiter in the yellow zone of her HP gauge, "Pina, heal her please," She commanded of her familiar. The feathered dragon chirped, before letting out a warm stream of life that restored the purple haired woman's health.

The dragon's owner smiled, glad to help, looking back to see several legs coming down on her already, causing her to yelp in fright.

"Move!" A large shape tackled the tamer aside, and the sharp foot came down right behind them. Silica glanced up to see Helios crouched over her.

"Thanks Helios," she panted, glad to be alive.

"Don't mention it, but don't expect me to be there all the time for you," the axe wielder grunted.

Silica then had a moment to notice where they were, right underneath the massive skeletal insect. "Helios, I just had an idea, swing that bad boy up," she said, Fang of the Dragon lighting up and lunging into the soft underbelly.

Helios shrugged, and complied, swinging his massive axe up. The Skull Reaper hissed out with pain as the attack connected. Both glanced at each other and grinned, leaping out and back to safety.

"Ren! We found it's weakness! It's the underbelly!" Silica called out.

The tactician gave a grin, he looked around, finding Ion thrusting in between the bones at the joints. "Ion! Come over here! I have an idea!" He yelled.

Ion zipped over, panting. "What's the plan?" He asked.

"Want to try something risky?" He asked.

"Define 'risky'," Ion gave a raised eyebrow.

Ren gave the outline of his idea. Ion's mouth twitched into a grin and it kept going. "That's genius," he muttered. "Let's do it!"

Both players ran around the battlefield, coming to a halt near Heathcliff and Kirito. "When I say, we need you to hold that thing's scythes down for a second," Ren said.

"Say the word and it'll happen," Asuna nodded.

Both took a step back, and then both started glowing. Ren in a crimson red, and Ion in a radiant green. "You know, I don't think I've ever properly seen Crimson Flash before," Ion muttered.

"It's not much different than Max Speed, but it doesn't turn me into a glass cannon, however, instead, I can't use anything other than the sword skill," Ren said. He then hardened his gaze, "Hold it still!" He called.

Heathcliff blocked a scythe with his massive shield. Kirito and Asuna then brought their blades together, halting the other huge weapon.

Ren and Ion both gave a roar of determination as they charged forward at top speed, sliding down the length of the boss and carving huge gashes along it's underbelly.

When they reached the far end, they ducked past the tail, and retreated to safety.

Everyone gave a cheer at the damage caused by the joint attack. Helios approached Agil, Mars and Liz, the three of which were bashing away at the boss' armored bones. "Want to do something that might help?" He asked.

"What've you got in mind?" Mars asked.

"Death from above!" Helios said simply. He pointed at the tail.

"You're crazy!" Liz told him.

"I'm in," Agil nodded.

The two axe users smirked, before rushing to the tail end, Helios knocking it's back leg to get it's attention. The tail came down, attempting to squash them flat. Both heavy weapon holders grinned, gripping onto a bone each, ignoring the damage that the sharp texture gave them.

Skull Reaper didn't like the humans on it's tail, and threw them up into the air. Then, in perfect unison, both activated the same skill, axes glowing green with energy before slamming down onto the insect's back, inflicting massive damage to it's HP. It then bucked, and threw them off.

The two shared a fist bump, "Axe power rules baby!" Agil laughed.

* * *

The fight went on for a long time, easily becoming the longest fight yet. Ion and Ren carried out their attack run several times, and Agil and Helios divebombed even moreso, even inspiring other two handed weapon users to try as well, Angel and Mars included.

Eventually, after what felt like hours of hacking, slashing, bashing and stabbing, the boss finally shattered into millions of pixels.

No one cheered. They didn't have the energy. They just collapsed, falling to the ground as the adrenaline rush of battle finally faded.

Ion stabbed his estoc into the ground, barely having the strength to stand up. He decided not to worry, and sat down, his back connecting with that of Angel behind him. Aurora yawned, and her legs fell out from under her. Ion had instructed her to only use her ranged ice breath attack, as getting close to that boss would have been suicide for the ice wolf, and she was beyond exhausted.

Eventually, Klein broke the silence, "How many did we lose?" He asked.

"Fourteen," Ion heard Kirito reply, after counting up the dots in the room.

Everyone gasped at the news, that number was crazy high for their standards. "Holy crap, and we still have twenty-five more floors to go…" Agil muttered.

"Can we really do it? Make it twenty-five more floors?" Angel asked.

"Morale is at an all-time low, we're at the breaking point," Cyrus sighed.

 _CLANG!_ All heads turned to see Kirito thrusting Elucidator at Heathcliff of all people!

"Kirito?! What are you…?" Ion asked. Before his eyes widened at the sight of a purple hexagon next to his head. The last time he saw that icon was when Yui had been attacked in the Black Iron Catacombs.

"Immortal Object…?" Angel muttered.

"The hell?" Helios demanded.

"What is this?! Why is that there!" Ion roared.

"I can answer that," Kirito said. "The system protects his HP from going into the yellow. And the reason behind that is pretty simple, although I only just figured it out."

"Stop talking in riddles and give us the fact!" Saturn told him.

"I always wondered something." Kirito muttered, looking up at the ceiling. "Where does he hide? Watching us as we play this game of his? But then I realized something. The most crucial part of any gamer's lifestyle. There's nothing more boring that watching someone else play an RPG." Kirito looked directly at Heathcliff. "Is there? Akihiko Kayaba?"

* * *

 **Kirito: Cliffhanger? Nice!**

 **Ion: Uh huh, I was about to go on, but it wouldn't be the chapter focus.**

 **Angel: So you're gonna split it in two to stretch out the story.**

 **Silica: Not bad.**

 **Emma: So, next chapter.**

 **All: Next Time: The Way the World Ends**


	12. Chapter 12: The Way the World Ends

**WHOO! Triple whammy for you guys!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: This is the Way the World Ends**

* * *

Everyone gasped at the name called out by the Black Swordsman. Could he be serious? Could Heathcliff, the man who had led the Assault Team up floor after floor, could he be Kayaba?

Heathcliff closed his eyes, "For my curiosity's sake. How did you figure it out?" he asked. Ion noticed he hadn't denied the claim.

"It was back during our duel. That last move you pulled there was way too fast," Kirito explained.

Heathcliff… no. Kayaba nodded his head, as if he knew such a thing. "Yes, I thought as much." He glanced around at the crowd of players around him. "Yes, I am Akihiko Kayaba, and now that you know that, you shouldn't be surprised to know that I am the final boss of the game."

Ion felt himself shaking in anger. "All this time… you led us. We trusted you! And now you come forth as the man we've all wanted to kill since that fateful day?!" He demanded. Grabbing his sword, he roared, rushing at Kayaba and leaping forward to attack. "YOU _BASTARD_!"

Heathcliff sighed, and opened his menu, inputting a command. Ion felt his body freeze, before he fell to the ground in a heap. _Paralysis?_ He asked, spotting the icon next to his HP.

Everyone else seemed to be frozen as well, all except Kirito for some reason.

"What's the plan then?" Kirito asked, holding Asuna in his arms. "Kill us all and cover it up?"

"No. That would be unsporting of me." Heathcliff shook his head. "I have a better idea. I'll head for the Ruby Palace, on floor one-hundred, and wait for all of you there. But first…" He looked at Kirito, slamming his shield down before him. "Kirito. I feel like I should reward you for figuring me out so soon. Therefore, I shall give you a chance. Duel me, one on one, and if you win. SAO will be cleared."

Ion's eyes widened. "Kirito! Don't do this! Think! If you lose, we might as well call this game over!" He called out.

"I can't decline this chance to end this nightmare, I can't sit by knowing I have a chance to end this now," Kirito said. He looked at Kayaba. "You're on."

"Kirito!"

"Don't do this Kirito!"

"Stop and use your head Kirito!"

Klein, Agil and Ren all yelled respectively.

"Ren. Klein." Kirito muttered. "I'm sorry for leaving you behind that day. Both of you have become strong leaders, and I'm glad to call you my fr-"

"SHUT UP KIRITO!" Klein and Ren both roared. Followed by Klein saying, "Don't you dare apologize to us! Not until we're on the other side and you're buying me dinner!" He muttered.

Kirito then looked at Ion, "Ion… I want to make a request of you," he said. "If I do die today, please… tell my sister that I loved her with all I could as her brother."

Ion's eyes widened at the request, and he felt himself tearing up, "Don't you dare start jinxing yourself! You beat this ass here and now and go home and tell her yourself! I won't play the role of a dead man's messenger!"

Kirito nodded, and walked towards Heathcliff. "If you don't mind, I have one last request."

"Name it."

"If I die here today, I want you to make sure that Asuna won't kill herself."

Heathcliff's eyes closed, "Very well," he nodded.

"No Kirito! You can't do that! It's not fair!" Asuna sobbed.

Kirito and Heathcliff stood across from each other. Ion knew, that if Kirito won or lost, this would be the final battle. Without Kirito, Asuna or Heathcliff, they would never recover the morale to continue fighting.

"Don't you dare die Kirito…" He whispered.

The Black Swordsman poured every ounce of his warrior soul into his attacks, Elucidator and Dark Repulsor becoming blurs as they hammered against Kayaba's shield. But no matter what Kirito did, he didn't seem to have the power to break the walking fort's infinite defense.

"Why isn't he using sword skills?" Silica asked.

"Kayaba designed every single one of the sword skills, including the dual blades skill. He knows every in and out the game has to offer. Kirito has to win this fight using his own power," Angel muttered.

Ion watched with worry-filled eyes, watching his friend's movements. Slash. Block. Swing. Parry. Repeat. The fight seemed like it would never end. Which would fall first? Kirito's stamina? Or Heathcliff's godlike defense. The game creator then managed to nick Kirito across his cheek, and it made something snap.

Kirito, whether he knew or not, had just activated his most powerful skill. Eclipse.

A massive combo, even more hits than Starburst Stream, rained down on Kayaba. But his huge shield withheld every strike, absorbing most of the damage. Finally, with the final downwards attack, Dark Repulsor smashed against the shield and snapped into two pieces.

"Game over Kirito!"

"KIRITO!"

If Ion had blinked, he might have missed it. Heathcliff's sword was coming down, cloaked in red light. A sudden white and red light dashed past him and leapt between Kirito and the incoming slash for him.

His eyes widened as he saw none other than Asuna, with a massive gash down diagonally across her torso.

Asuna mumbled something to Kirito, before the Lightning Flash burst apart.

"ASUNA!" Alice, Angel and Liz each shrieked with horror.

All the life seemed to have vanished from Kirito as he tried to reach up and grab the shards of his beloved. He dropped to his knees in despair.

Heathcliff seemed shocked, but for other reasons, "Well! Who knew that paralysis could be broken by sheer willpower?" He asked.

Kirito struggled to his feet, grabbing Lambent Light from where Asuna had perished. He made one slash with Elucidator, then tried again with the rapier. Heathcliff simply stepped out of the way each time.

"Kirito! I know you feel broken, but that doesn't mean you can give up! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Ion roared from the ground, tears falling freely from his eyes.

"Kirito… You can't give up!" Ren sobbed. Heathcliff sighed, and with a sharp uppercut, knocked Kirito's black sword from his hand, then ran him through.

No one could believe it. It was over. Asuna was dead, and Kirito was about to join her. Ion closed his eyes, waiting for the shattering sound.

"Not yet…" Kirito mumbled. Ion's eyes snapped open again, seeing his first friend he made in Japan glowing almost golden, before he gave one last roar, and thrust Lambent Light through Heathcliff's chest.

Both players then surrendered to their fate, and shattered together. One, the hero, the other, the villain.

Ion slowly walked over to Kirito's Elucidator, and picked up the black blade. "Damn it Kirito…" He muttered.

Angel walked up to him, "They're… gone…" She sobbed.

Ion turned around, and engulfed her in a hug. Both just wept together, unable to say anymore.

Suddenly, a bell echoed throughout the room, and all of Aincrad. "As of November 22, 12:55. The Game has been cleared. Repeat. The game has been cleared."

Everyone looked around at each other, unable to believe what had happened just now. Their faces slowly lit up as they realized it was finally over. Mai and Silica shared a hug, and Alice joined in with the smaller girls. Helios turned to Riku, and gave him a fist bump while pulling in Dagger for a hug.

"Damn you Kirito! You glory hogging bastard!" Ion looked over Angel's shoulder at Ren, who was on the ground. "Why'd you have to go and die like that when we all get to leave! It's not fair!"

Ion let go of Angel, and slowly dragged his feet over to the tactician. He pulled the man to his feet, and pulled him into a hug as well.

"I know. He taught you how to survive in this game. He was my friend from my first day of school," Ion said.

"Ion…" Ren gasped. He had always suspected Ion and Kirito were acquaintances IRL, and that had just confirmed it.

Alice walked over, and cleared her throat, Ion let the boy go, so she could wrap her arms around him instead. Angel walked up behind Ion, the two couples smiling sadly.

Suddenly, all the players in the room began glowing. They each glanced at themselves and each other, unsure what was going on.

"Does this mean… we're logging out?" Alice asked. She gasped, looking at Ren.

Ion opened his menu, tagging all three there, as well as Silica, he then sent a message to them. 'Tell me your names, so I can find you again when we get home. I'm Marcus Cersy.'

Four simultaneous message alerts popped up on his HUD a moment later.

'Dan Hiryo' – Ren.

'Alicia Tsuki' – Alice.

'Keiko Ayano' – Silica.

'Sarah Radcliffe' – Angel.

Ion took care to memorize them all, he then held out a hand to Ren. "I'll try to get in touch with you as soon as possible," He said.

Ren nodded, taking the hand and shaking it, "We'll be waiting," He smiled.

The light then grew brighter and brighter, and all four vanished in a flash, along with all remaining players of Sword Art Online.

* * *

Emma sat in class, chewing on her pencil as she tried to figure out the horrible mathematics questions in front of her. _If I take 225 and square root it… that's 15. Then multiply that by 4, I get 60. Square that…_

"Clair Hiryo to the Main Office." A sudden announcement came through the intercom, wrecking her train of thought. "Clair Hiryo to the Main Office.

 _Stupid speaker!_ Emma growled.

"Emma Cersy to the Main Office." The speaker blared again. "Emma Cersy to the Main Office."

 _Thank god. I'm done for with this test_. She sighed.

"Emma, we'll give you a quiet room for you to try again next week. Don't worry," her teacher smiled.

Emma nodded, and put her pencil back in her pencil case, and grabbed her bag from under her desk, quickly departing from the classroom. As she did, the intercom crackled to life again. "Kione Radcliffe to the Main Office."

As she walked down the halls, she wondered what could be wrong. Was it the sap from last week who tried to make a move on her again? Or something related to her grades? And why were her friends being called down as well?

"Emma!" The raven-haired girl turned her head at the hailing call, spotting the brown hair of Clair and the silver-haired Kione walking towards her. Emma had met them near the start of the new term last year. Her eyes then flickered to Kione, who had a hood covering over her eyes, which had a large scar all the way across her face.

The girl, unfortunately, was blind. A German Shephard with a green vest on walked aside her, guiding her towards the Cersy girl. Dogs weren't allowed in school, but Kione was the exception, needing the canine to help her to her classes and around the hallways.

Emma walked alongside her two friends, "I wonder what's going on?" Clair muttered.

"Beats me," Emma shrugged, putting her hands in her pocket.

"I hate feeling right… but do you think it could be about that game?" Kione asked.

The other two looked at her in surprise, "Don't even think about saying it!" She snapped.

The German Shephard growled at her, "Lex, stop." Kione said, pulling tightly on her dog's leash.

Emma frowned, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to snap at you…" She sighed. Truth was, since her brother had gone under the trance of the Nervegear and that death game, she had become somewhat of a rebel, picking fights and growing increasingly frustrated with life.

Lex gave a sharp bark, announcing their arrival to the office, and Emma pushed it open for her two friends.

Counselor Sumar sat behind a desk, a pair of seats before him. "Ms. Hiryo. Ms. Radcliffe. Ms. Cersy," He greeted the three, and gestured to the seats before him.

 _He's from guidance…_ Emma noted. _What's he doing here?_

She offered the seats for her friends, choosing to stand behind them.

"We've just received some calls from your parents and guardians," Sumar said. "It's about your siblings."

All three tensed, "Don't you dare tell me…!" Emma began.

"They're awake."

The girls stopped solid. Emma almost fell over from shock. "What… what did you just say?" She asked.

"According to your families, the hospitals taking care of your siblings have called. They're awake," Mr Sumar said. "They're each on their way here to pick you up so you can all go see them."

Kione seemed to look faint, and Lex quickly nuzzled her, to see if she was ok. "I'm ok Lex, just a little disoriented." Her master petted her head.

Clair sagged in her seat, collapsed from disbelief, _He's back… Dan…_ She cried silently.

Emma made sure her legs wouldn't give way to her, and smiled. A genuine smile appeared on her face for the first time in two years.

 _They're all back,_ she realized. _It's a miracle_.

* * *

Ion's eyes opened to the faint sound of a rhythmic beep to his left. He looked up at a white ceiling, with a light hanging from it. It was off however, and there was a mild light coming in from his right.

He could feel the nervegear on his head, but it wasn't as tight as it had been when he put it on. Ion tried to move his arms to remove the prison, but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

 _Well, it would appear I'm not dead._ He sighed. _SAO is finally over._

The door to his room swung open. A woman, who Ion assumed was a nurse of some kind poked her head in with widened eyes. She called out into the hall. "Yep! Same story over here! They're awake!"

The woman then walked in, and gently removed the device from his head. Black hair fell down over his eyes, and he frowned. "Please. Leave the Nervegear here… even though it held me in there for two years, I still have a lot of memories there."

Soon, a few doctors were in the room, making tests on Ion's pencil thin body. One took a pair of scissors and trimmed the hair in front of his eyes, allowing him to see again. He sighed, feeling how weak his body had become. Before SAO, he had been a top Kendo player, with some muscles to brag about. Now, he was so frail and weak.

After the doctors finished, they left Ion to go and check on the other survivors in the hospital.

A few minutes later, Ion heard his door open again, "Excuse me, was your in-game name Ion?" A nurse asked.

"Aye sir, that's me," Ion nodded his weak head. "There something wrong?"

"No no, nothing at all." The nurse said. "I have a message from a survivor from one of the other hospitals for you."

"Who was it who sent it?" Ion asked.

The man looked down at a tablet, "Kirito. He said his name was Kirito."

Ion's eyes widened, and he heard his heart monitor beep a little faster, "Did… you say… Kirito?" He asked.

"Yes, Apparently, he wanted to let you know he was ok," the nurse said. He turned and headed for the door. "That is all, I must get back to work."

"Before you go, I'm sorry, can I ask you to return a message to him?" Ion asked. The man nodded. "Tell Kirito that 'he almost gave me a heart attack, and that he must never do that again'. He'll understand, even if you do not."

The nurse noted that down on his tablet. "I'll send that to his hospital as soon as I can."

Ion closed his eyes with relief as he laid back against his pillows. _He's alive… thank god. And if he's alive… does that mean Asuna lived too? It's a miracle._

He sighed, waiting in bed. Minutes went by as he wondered what was next for him and his fellow survivors. He was expecting a doctor to come back and explain that to him. When the door opened again, Ion's eyes widened at who he saw.

A young girl, around fourteen years old, with short black hair that she had down to just past her shoulders. She had ocean-blue eyes, darker than Ion's own. She was wearing a white hooded jacket and seemed to be panting heavily as she looked at him.

Ion's eyes started to water as he recognized who was standing before him. She looked a little older and different. But it was still her.

"Emma…" He whispered.

"Bro… you're back…" Emma muttered before she ran up and threw herself at her brother, crying out with sheer happiness.

"Emma! Easy! Thin as a stick of celery here!" Ion winced at her vice grip of a hug. He then sighed, deciding to grin and bear it.

"It's ok Emma. I'm home. And I'll never leave you again. That is a promise," He put a hand on her back, rubbing her gently. "Let it out kiddo, it's long overdue."

It wasn't even a minute longer before Warren and Amy both stepped into the room. Apparently, in her haste, Emma had run on ahead of them the moment she had a visiting pass.

Warren put a hand on his shoulder, "Welcome back son, you've been missed." He sighed.

"Everyone in the neighborhood kept giving their regards to your imprisonment," Amy wept, kneeling down and hugging him gently from the other side.

Ion sighed, looking around at his family. "It's ok everyone. I'm home."

He couldn't stop here however. He needed to get back on his feet and find the people who he had vowed to see again.

* * *

Angel sighed, she was glad to be out of SAO, but she wished that everyone would stop fussing over her. Her hair was unbelievably long, enough to make her feel like Rapunzel, and her body was terribly weak.

She was glad when the doctors left the room, and just laid there, planning out what was next to come. As she did, she heard the door open. Turning her head, her eyes widened at what she saw.

A silver-haired girl, around thirteen years old, walked into the room, guided by a large dog in a green coat. She had a black winter jacket with the hood up, covering her eyes.

"Is she awake mother?" She asked an older woman, also blonde.

"Sarah!" the woman rushed up to the bed. "Oh dear, you're so thin…" she gently embraced Angel in a hug.

"Mom… Kione…" Angel cried in joy. The girl walked up, feeling around before she set her hand on the bed.

"Lex. Rest," She commanded the dog with a kind tone, and the dog lay down on all fours.

"Kione… your eyes…" Angel gasped.

"A drunk man removed my sight a month after you were imprisoned." Kione said. "He is dead." She added at hearing Angel try to move.

Angel gently ran her hand across Kione's closed eyes, sewn shut because the pupils were useless inside. "It's ok, I'm used to it now, and I have a new friend, Lex." She stroked the dog's head.

Angel glanced down at the dog, "Have you been taking care of my sister?" She asked.

The dog gave a small whimper, sitting up and putting her head on Angel's bed.

"Good, as far as I'm concerned then, you're practically family," Angel smiled, as Lex began to gently lick her hand.

She looked out the window, _Ion… We'll see each other again… count on it._

* * *

 **Ion: And so Aincrad comes crumbling down!**

 **Angel: I liked the mingling of Clair, Emma and Kione, those three would be friends.**

 **Silica: Yeah! And that dog is adorable!**

 **Kione: Thank you.**

 **Emma: I just hope bro won't be mad when he sees my report cards...**

 **Ion: What was that about report cards?**

 **Emma: Nothing!**

 **All: Next time: She's Still Sleeping**


	13. Chapter 13: She's Still Sleeping

**And we are back! Time to get into the ALO arc. I know a lot of people dislike this arc a huge amount, but I absolutely love it to bits. Maybe it's because I'm a Nordic Fanboy who loves Norse Mythology, but either way, this is going to be a lot of fun for me.**

 **I do not own Wyvern's Inferno, who do belong to TheSib. I only own my OCs!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: She's Still Sleeping**

* * *

"Afternoon, let me know if I can help you with anything," Marcus said, stood behind the cashier of the bakery. It was good to be back to doing something _normal_. The customer walked around, setting eyes on a box of Pain au Chocolates.

He came up to the desk and paid, "It's good to see you back on your feet Marcus," He said. "It was never the same with your positive outlook to things watching this place."

"Thank you, sir. It feels good to be back," Marcus smiled. "Have a good one!" He waved as the man departed.

Emma walked in from the back, holding a palette with several boxes on. "A fresh order, the customer should be here soon," she said, sliding them underneath the cashier.

"Roger, any name?" Marcus asked.

"Yeah, they said their name was… Ayano… I think," Emma said.

Marcus showed a smile, "Keiko," He clarified.

"Yup, she should be here soon," Emma nodded.

She took an empty palette into the back, and Marcus returned to watching the store, he sighed. This was just fine for him.

He saw a young man enter, around aged nineteen, and watched him as he made for where there was a pile of scones. He grabbed a bag and filled it up with them, five, ten, fifteen, twenty. He then glanced at Marcus, then at the door.

Marcus was already in motion as the youth made for the door, vaulting over the counter and grabbing the thief by his arm.

"Excuse me, you need to pay for that," He said calmly.

The teen sighed, "I'm not hungry anymore," He handed the bag to Marcus.

"I think I understand, you don't have a home, do you?" He asked.

The youth nodded his head, "Then take them," Marcus said, causing the teen to look at him with surprise.

"This is a bakery, we can easily make more. If I talk to Warren, I might see about providing you with some food to help you on your way in future, just ask next time." Marcus smiled.

Emma and Warren both walked up, having watched the whole thing, "Good job Marcus," he said to his employee. He then turned to the would-be thief. "Because you were stopped before you walked out the door, and because you gave the stolen items back, I won't press charges against you."

At that moment, the door opened, and in walked a brown-haired girl, wearing a lime green cardigan over a white shirt and skirt. Her hair was tied up into two short ponytails by red ribbons.

"Hello? I've come for my… oh Marcus!" She said, spotting the gathering of people. "What's going on?" She asked.

"Marcus, you serve your friend, then you can take the rest of the day off," Warren said. "You deserve it."

Marcus nodded, going to collect Keiko's order, "That'll be five hundred yen," He said.

Keiko pulled out the money, and Marcus put it in the cashier. He then took off his apron, hanging it up on a peg between the shop and the kitchen.

* * *

He went around back, pulling his bicycle out of storage, and brought it around to the front, where Keiko was waiting with her own bike. She put the box of muffins in her bag, then the two took off.

"We're meeting Dan at the park, aren't we?" He asked.

"Yeah, he's got Clair with him and Alicia tagged along for a date with him," Keiko nodded.

"Any news on Asuna?" Marcus then asked.

"Kazuto visited just yesterday, nothing new," Keiko sighed.

After Sword Art Online finished, Asuna never woke up, she isn't the only one either, three hundred players of SAO were still under the nervegear's influence. They've all been like this for two months.

"He met Asuna's father, as well as a colleague of his, this other guy said he was going to marry Asuna on her hospital bed!" Keiko went on.

"What?! How can he get away with that?" Marcus asked.

"Yuuki-San gave the man his blessings, and the date has been arranged for the twenty-sixth of January!" Keiko finished.

"The end of the month then… damn it…" Marcus growled.

The two pulled into the park, and found a brown-haired boy and a black-haired girl sitting together on a bench, while a smaller brunette girl tried to sneak up on the boy.

"She's behind you!" Marcus chuckled as they approached.

The boy smiled, "Yeah, I knew already," he said. "Clair was playing on the swings, then got the idea to sneak around behind us and surprise us."

"I expected nothing less of Aincrad's top tactician," Keiko giggled, as Clair walked around the bench.

"You hear about Asuna?" The black-haired girl asked.

"Who the hell is this slime who thinks they can marry a comatose teenager?" Marcus asked, crossing his arms with disgust.

Dan was about to answer, when simultaneously, all their phones alerted them to a message.

"Agil's called a meeting at his café as soon as we can all get there," Alicia noticed.

"I'll take Clair home, then meet you guys there," Dan said.

"Right, we'll go there right now, Alicia, you have a bike?" Marcus asked.

"Yeah, it's in the rack by the east entrance," Alicia nodded.

"Good, let's roll out," Marcus grinned.

* * *

The Dicey Café was a small establishment in a wide alleyway, a pair of dice hung from the door, and there was a sign, saying 'Closed for Reservation'.

Marcus pushed open the door, seeing Kazuto, Sarah, Klein, also known as Ryoutarou, Mai, known as Emi, Riku, known as Shirou, and Lizbeth, who IRL was called Rika.

"You sure didn't waste any time," Agil, also known as Andrew, noted. Keiko and Alicia walked in behind him.

"Dan should be here really soon, where's Hyde and Lilina?" Alicia asked.

"I'm sure they have a reason for being late," Rika muttered.

Dan showed up a few minutes later, and Hyde and Lilina, also known as the duo of Helios and Dagger, walked in behind him.

"Sorry we're late, I was helping Lilina get away from a few people she scammed," Hyde rubbed his head.

"Again? That's the fifth time this week," Emi sighed.

Everyone took a seat around the café, Andrew then walked around, and slapped down a couple of photographs at each table.

Marcus gasped when he saw what was in the photo. It was a bird cage. The next picture was a little blurry, but the resemblance was there, especially due to the chestnut hair and white and red clothes.

"Looks familiar, ain't it?" Andrew asked.

"It's Asuna," Kazuto gasped.

"That's what I thought," Andrew nodded.

"Where was this taken?" Sarah asked.

"That's going to take some explaining," Andrew pulled out a case for a video game. On the box art, there was a male fairy in green armor and wings and a female fairy in red clothing looking up at the moonlit sky and stars. The title of the box read, 'ALfheim Online'.

Marcus read this name out aloud. "Wait… ALfheim… Land of the Fairies!" He realized.

"I figured you'd notice that," Andrew nodded. "It's a game for the Amusphere, which is what replaced nervegear on the market."

"Ok, what does ALfheim Online have to do with Asuna?" Keiko asked.

Kazuto put two and two together, "She's in this game, isn't she?"

Andrew pointed at Kazuto, "Correct," He nodded.

Everyone gasped, Asuna was in another game?

"Ok then, What's the game details?" Marcus asked, picking up the case.

The former merchant took back the case and flipped it over. On the back was a map of some kind, with nine icons around the outside and a tree shape in the middle.

"The game is divided into nine races, Imp, Spriggan, Sylph, Cait Sith, Salamander, Gnome, Leprechaun, Undine and Pooka," He said, pointing at the outer icons in a certain order. "The primary objective is this, The World Tree." He then tapped the tree.

"Yggdrasill," Marcus whispered.

Kazuto processed everything said so far, "Land of the Fairies huh? Sounds like a cute game," He said.

"That's not what I hear, for one: PKing is allowed, and it's got this crazy hardcore leveling system," Andrew said.

"Define 'Hardcore'," Hyde said.

"I mean the game's not level based, it's skill based. You gotta use your skills over and over to improve them, and combat depends on your real life physical abilities," Andrew told his fellow axe wielder.

"You're right, that _is_ hardcore," Marcus muttered.

"There's no sword skills, other than that, it's like SAO but with magic," Andrew concluded.

This piqued Marcus' interest, "Magic huh… like attack spells, healing magic and buffs and debuffs?"

"Get this, the real reason this game is the fire, is 'cause you feel like you're flying," Andrew then said.

"Flying?" Alicia asked.

"Y'know fairies have wings? Well, there's this flight engine thing, and if you figure it out, you can fly," Andrew explained.

"That sounds rather cool," Emi grinned.

"You got it," Andrew nodded. "anyway, this flying thing, there's a limit to how long you can stay airborne."

He then smirked, "Check it out, these five players stacked up, bigger ones on the bottom. They tried launching themselves like a rocket."

Hyde and Ryoutarou chuckled, "That's a crazy sounding idea, but it sounds like it would work," the latter said.

"Yeah, well… what I hear, those cats didn't even get past the lowest branch." Andrew said, "They did manage to snap a couple shots though, and when they did, they saw something weird."

He then pointed at one of the photographs, one of a golden birdcage.

"A birdcage?" Shirou asked.

"Must be some crazy big bird to need one that size," Emi muttered.

"Well, once they enhanced it as far as it would go, they got this," Andrew pointed at the one of Asuna.

"Ok… but if she's in another game, what's she doing there?" Kazuto asked, turning over the case again. His eyes widened at something he saw. "RCT Progress?!"

Kazuto finished his coffee, "Agil, mind if I borrow this for a few days?" He asked.

"Sure, you thinking about going?" Andrew nodded, leaning on the bar.

"Yeah, I got to check this out," Kazuto said, stuffing the case into his backpack. "A game where it's ok to die shouldn't be that much big a deal."

He frowned, "I still got to buy the hardware for it…" He realized.

"It's compatible with what you got. The Amusphere is just a nervegear rig, but with better security," Andrew said.

"If that's the case, then we'd better go buy that game," Dan noted.

"What?" Kazuto asked.

"Did you honestly think that you would handle this on your own?" Dan asked him. "We're here to help you man. Asuna was our friend too, you know?"

"And did you think I would pass out on a chance to dive into a literal Nordic Realm? You clearly forgot, I'm a Nordic Nut! I love Norse Mythology," Marcus laughed.

Andrew laughed at their eagerness. He put his fist out, "The battle's not over 'til it's over, you feel me?" He asked.

"We sure do; besides, you know the Frontline's motto. Give what you can…" Marcus bumped the fist with his own.

"Give nothing back!" The whole gang finished.

* * *

They all eventually decided on Fairy Races, Marcus was going to go Undine, Sarah, Kazuto and Lilina were going to go Spriggan, Keiko would go Cait Sith, Rika would go with the Leprechaun race. Ryoutarou would go back to his old guildmates and they would all go with Salamander, Hyde was going to go with that race too. Dan and Alicia would go with the Imp Race and Emi and Shirou would be the Sylphs.

Marcus returned to the bakery that afternoon, after he had nipped by the closest video game store and bought ALfheim Online.

He locked his bike up in the back, and walked into the house from the back yard.

"Marcus, how was your day?" Amy asked, sat at the table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper in her hand.

"I need to talk with you, all of you," Marcus said, and pulled out the game.

"Warren, Emma! Time for a little conference," Amy called throughout the building.

Emma walked down from upstairs, and Warren hung up his apron as he walked through from the front.

Marcus leaned against the worktop, and sighed. "There's something I need to tell you guys. It's about one of our friends from SAO."

His mentioning of those three letters made the room deflate. "One of my old friends from the game contacted me and my group of pals from those days, he had a lead on Asuna. She's been spotted in a game called ALfheim Online."

His family gasped, "Then get the authorities involved," Warren said.

"It wouldn't work, we don't know how high up this problem goes, but it could go all the way to the top, and they might have powerful friends. Me and my friends are going to be diving into ALO in ten minutes. We're going to get her back."

Emma seemed quiet, "You're going to put that death trap back on. Aren't you?" She asked.

"I am. Don't worry, Mr Kikuoka said his people ran through the thing with a microscope, and all things looping back to the Nervegear's safety functions have been reset, it's not going to fry my brain." Marcus said, putting a hand on her head and ruffling her hair slightly.

They all sighed, looking at each other and nodding. "We can't stop you Marcus, we never could really. Just, be careful, don't put yourself in a position where you'll regret it," Warren said.

"I'm sorry for putting this worry on you, but Asuna is my friend, and her fate hangs in the balance of this mission," Marcus bowed.

"Go. Help your friend," Amy told him.

Marcus nodded, "I'll tell you some of my stories when I get back," He said, walking towards the stairs and going up.

When the three heard the door close, Amy turned to Emma, "take care of him, make sure he gets the help he needs."

"You got it, Kione and I have had a plan in the making for months now, it's practically ready to move to it's final phase," Emma nodded.

She walked up the stairs, "Link Start!" She heard her brother say the two magical words, the same ones that locked him into SAO two years ago. Stepping into their shared room, she reached under the bed and pulled out a small circular disc with a visor on one face.

She sighed, looking down at the blue helmet on her brother's head. She put a hand on the three letters at the top. "Please, help my brother complete his mission, and bring him home safely."

She laid down next to him, donning the Amusphere on her head. "Link Start!"

* * *

Marcus remember the last time he entered the virtual world, flying down a tunnel of color before seeing five green circles that signified his senses were connected. He then found himself standing in a large circular room.

"Welcome to ALfheim Online!" A autonomous woman's voice said. "Please enter your gender, and the name you wish to be identified as."

A keyboard appeared before him, and he entered three letters. Ion.

It had been agreed they would all use their handles from SAO in ALO. The keyboard vanished, and in it's place appeared four arrows and an enter key. Before him were nine example avatars, one of each of the nine races of fairy. "There are nine races of fairy to choose from. Please select which fairy you wish to play as.

Ion cycled through them, until he settled on Undine.

"You have selected Undine. Your appearance will be generated at random, do you wish to continue?" The voice said.

Ion hit confirm, "You will now be teleported to your hometown in Undine territory. Good luck player!"

The entire room then flashed white. Ion opened his eyes when he could see again, finding himself _falling_. Far below him seemed to be a large resort styled city near the ocean. A large dome shaped building stood in the middle of the city, with a tall tower sticking high up above it.

Ion couldn't help but gape in amazement at the sight beneath him. He then felt himself come to a stop, as four shimmering blue wings materialized on his back, with a crest being the point of origin. A small controller then appeared in his left hand.

A window, resembling one of SAO, appeared before him. _This is the controlled flight tutorial. Please follow the following instructions to learn to fly with the controller._

Ion obeyed, carrying out a number of different tasks, ranging from the simple 'Go here' task, to 'Drop quickly and then pull up here'.

Eventually, he finished the tutorial, and teleported again, this time to the surface, in the main courtyard of the Undine Capital of Aquaria.

"Wow…" He muttered, looking around at the buildings around him. They were made of white stone, and had no sharp corners and edges, they were all smooth. The windowpanes and doors were all made of a light blue wood.

In front of him was the large domed building he saw up above. It looked extremely sleek and shiny, and there was a large tower that shot up to just short of the clouds.

Ion then waved his right hand down, trying to open his menu, but he found it didn't work. With a frown, he tried again, then mentally slapped himself and tried his left hand.

The menu opened, to Ion's surprise, it looked very similar to SAO, with the character model on the left and several buttons on the right. Ion tapped the options key, and found himself almost collapsing in relief when he saw the two words 'Log Out' at the bottom of the tab.

"There it is. Thank god." He muttered. He then made a mirror appear before him, allowing him to see what he looked like himself. His hair seemed the same length as it had been both IRL and in SAO, but it was an aqua blue color instead. His eyes still posessed the same icy blue gaze they did before as well. He was wearing a simple white shirt and light grey pants and boots. A rapier was on his left hip.

"Let's see… status window?" He tapped that key, and he almost froze when he saw that there were several three digit numbers already there.

 _What the…?_ Ion asked. _Wait… I recognize these stats… They're mine… from SAO!_

His AGI was maxed out, as well as his skill level for thin swords, what made him sad though was the absence of Max Speed, and Familiar Communication.

He put the status window away, and checked his item storage. _Uh oh…_ His entire storage had been replaced by lines of question marks. He flicked all the way down, _Is it still there?_ He asked.

He then found two items that weren't crossed out by the system, one he recognized, but the other… _MHCP-003?_ He frowned. He looked around, _this really isn't the place to be looking at this sort of thing…_ He walked into an alley way, and, once he confirmed that there were no players around, he decided to manifest the item he had found.

A small white droplet appeared hovering above his hand, "What are you…?" Ion asked, tapping the strange item. A white light erupted before him, and he was instantly glad to have moved to an alley. He looked into the light, and saw something confusing...

A girl, maybe ten years old, was floating just off the ground, she was wearing an ice blue summer dress that looked like it was made of silk. She had white hair, and her eyes had an innocent, but slightly predatory look to them as well.

"Master Ion…!" The girl gasped, opening her eyes. "I'm glad to see you again!"

"Who are you?" Ion asked. "How do you know my name?"

The girl crashed into him, and seemed to nuzzle his chest in a familiar way. "You're like a father to me, you raised me, and I fought alongside you, albeit, I was a lot smaller then," she said.

"No way… Aurora?" Ion asked.

"It's me," the girl giggled, winking at him. "I'm at your service."

* * *

Ion filled his old friend in on their situation, she only paused to ask some questions now and then.

"I see… well, if we need to get to the World Tree, then the best way to go would be to launch from the tower, going west," Aurora said.

"Wait. You clearly aren't classed as a familiar anymore, what's the system recognizing you as?" Ion asked.

Aurora put a hand on her forehead, and closed her eyes. "Let's see… It seems I've been classified as a Navigation Pixie."

The moment the words left her mouth, she started glowing again. When Ion could see again, he saw a completely different form of his friend. She still had snow white hair, but wore a cute little white tube-top dress with detached sleeves, light blue anklets and a red flower was in her hair. The most vital observation though, was that she now had two white transparent wings, like the blue ones he had earlier, and she was now merely _ten centimeters tall!  
_

"Wow, talk about a weight loss," Ion mumbled. "You look adorable by the way."

"Thank you… should I call you Ion? Master or what?"

"Well… you just said that I was practically a father to you… tell you what, just call me what you think is right, actually, I'm glad you're here, I have a small problem, when I opened my menu, I think all my stats and items transferred over from SAO," Ion said.

"I'll run over your data, and see what I can come across," Aurora said, closing her eyes. "Yes, this is the exact same character data from your avatar in SAO, whatever skills you had in that game that are in this game crossed over and merged."

"So that's why Max Speed and Familiar Communication are gone," Ion figured. "What about my items?"

"They've been corrupted, apart from one…" Aurora said. "You may want to delete them, just in case."

Ion opened his menu, and went to his items. Then, he dragged all the way through the list and highlighted all his items. Then, after much difficulty, he pressed confirm to delete.

 _Goodbye to all those useful items_. He thought with a sigh.

Aurora sat on his shoulder, "Come on Ion, let's go," She said.

"Good idea, where am I going again? You said something about a tower," Ion nodded, standing up and heading back to the plaza.

He just stepped out of the alley, when he heard rapid footsteps coming his way, "Watch out!" A female voice yelped, before someone slammed into him, knocking them both to the floor.

"Watch where you're going…" Ion groaned, looking at the girl who had crashed into him. She had shoulder length light blue hair, and dark blue eyes. She was wearing a white halter top and skirt, and midnight blue leggings leading down to a pair of white light shoes. On her back was a huge greatsword.

"Sorry about that," she mumbled. Ion frowned, something about her voice sounded familiar…

"Melody… you need to stop bumping into strangers," another girl said. This one, unlike every player in Aquaria, was not an Undine, but a Spriggan girl, with long black hair in a single ponytail that fell to halfway down her back, and she had grey eyes. She was wearing a black double breasted jacket with white piping, cuffs and buttons over a black full pleated skirt with a white lace trim. She also wore a pair of black, thigh high boots with white heels and lace topped white- stockings. A katana sat under her shoulder, strapped there by a belt.

"He came out of the alley without warning Kione, I couldn't have seen that coming," Melody said. She stood up, and pushed her head against Kione's, "Besides, If you could tell he was coming, why didn't you warn me?"

Kione pushed back, "Because it was a good excuse for you to up your detection skill! I swear, the amount of times that either a monster or a Player killer has gotten the jump on you keeps going up."

Ion stood up, "excuse me ladies, I don't suppose I'm interrupting anything, but were you in a hurry before you bumped into me?" He asked, pushing the two apart.

"That's right! I have to get this report to Commander Lockster!" Melody gasped. "Thanks bro!" She said, about to leave.

Ion's eyes narrowed, _I knew it_. He grabbed her by the collar, "We need to have a talk."

* * *

 **Melody: *Gulps* Hey Marcus...**

 **Ion: Shut up.**

 **Kione: Well then... that was something else.**

 **Klein: With our resident host occupied, I'll let everyone know that Ion gave two characters to his buddy Mataras a while back, and they've finally showed up in his Star Sword II: Return to the Stars!**

 **Angel: Check that story out by the way, and it's prequel Star Sword.**

 **Silica: All of Mataras' stuff is cool, but let's stop advertising here.**

 **All: Next Time: Land of the Fairies**

 **Melody: HELP ME!**


	14. Chapter 14: The Land of the Fairies

**I'm enjoying this. A lot. I love the idea of flight, magic and that sort of thing, so Alfheim really got me hooked.**

 **Without further ado, let's get going!**

 **I don't own SAO, only my OCs.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Land of the Fairies**

 **Title Song: Wings of Liberty by Ohara Sakuya (Erza Scarlet!)**

* * *

Alfheim – Undine Territory – Aquaria – January 20th 2025

* * *

"Of all the most _stupid_ things you've done in your life, this _has_ to take the biscuit! What could _possibly_ have compelled you to get a diving rig and a VRMMO?" Ion demanded. He had pulled her back into the alley, and was furious.

Melody flinched at his tone. He rarely used that kind of voice, ever. "…" She couldn't find the words to answer him.

"How did you even get your hands on this kind of thing?" Ion asked.

"Warren and Amy got them for me, about a year after you got trapped in SAO," Melody sighed. "Warren quintuple checked all the safety measures of the Amusphere, and even tested the thing ten times himself before letting me use it. I swear!"

Ion blinked, then he sighed. "Ok. If Warren checked first, then I'll lay off. Now I have to have a little chat with him and Amy."

"Don't go too rough on them, they wanted to see me smile again, and they got me this game to try and achieve that," Melody told him.

"Ion? Do you know this person?" Aurora asked, slipping out from where she had fallen into his shirt.

"Melody? Who is this guy?" Asked Kione, who had been standing off to the side.

"He/She is my brother/sister," they both replied, then blinked, and grinned.

Then Kione and Melody whirled around, "Wait a minute! That's a navigation pixie! How the hell did you score one of those?" Melody asked.

"Long story short, two months ago, she was an adorable little ice wolf," Ion shrugged.

Aurora nodded, "At the end of SAO, Akihiko Kayaba wanted me to continue to serve him, no matter where Ion went. Therefore, I became a pixie."

"Emma, I'm sorry for delaying you, you said you had a report to give?" He then said.

"GAH! _My report!"_ Melody gulped. "Kione, take him to the launch tower, we'll talk there once I've delivered the news."

She summoned her wings and shot towards the domed building, "Let us come with you," Kione said, following.

Ion summoned his controller, willing his wings to appear, and he followed them at a safe speed towards the center of the city.

* * *

All three landed at the main gate to what appeared to be a military compound. Melody walked with confidence through the gate. Two Undine players stood at ease, but snapped to attention, "Sergeant Melody. Commander Lockster is in her office! She's been waiting for a while now."

Melody nodded, "Keep up the good work," she said. "At ease." She passed them, walking inside.

Kione lifted a balaclava from inside her jacket, giving her a mysterious vibe, Ion followed her and his sister through the gates, nervously avoiding the glances his way.

Melody led the way through a finely decorated hallway, before stopping at a pair of doors. She knocked twice, before entering.

Ion followed Kione in after her, and both stood back as Melody walked up and snapped to attention, giving a crisp salute. "Sorry I'm late Ma'am," she said. "I was held up."

The woman she was talking to was wearing a thick, dark blue coat with fluffy trims, her hair was a deep ocean blue, and her eyes were grey. "At ease Melody, what's the word?" She asked.

"Sakuya and Alicia Rue were interrupted by a Salamander Army headed by General Eugene. Only thanks to the timely arrival of my friend Leafa and a Spriggan friend of hers, were peace talks able to finish," Melody said.

"Who was this Spriggan?" Lockster asked.

"I believe that he said his name was Kirito, he fought with a large greatsword, not much smaller than my own," Melody replied.

"I've never heard of this Spriggan, he fought Eugene?" Lockster asked.

"And beat him, ma'am."

"What?! Someone besides myself has beaten General Eugene in battle?" Lockster asked, wide eyes. "I almost want to see what he's like myself now..."

"Unsurprising, Kirito should never be underestimated."

The woman turned her head, to where Ion had spoken. He then chuckled. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Who is this boy? Is he with you and your mercenary?" The woman asked.

"I am, ma'am, My name is Ion." The new player spoke.

"You know this Spriggan who saved Sakuya and Alicia?"

"Kirito never does things half-assed, he probably gave it his all in that fight, and there's no way he'd lose so soon," Ion chuckled.

"Commander, my second part of my report," Melody spoke up.

"Proceed," Lockster asked.

"I was able to open negotiations with the Salamanders, Cait Siths and Sylphs, all three are in for our combined forces raid with the Spriggans, however, it will probably take them a while to gather the equipment they need for the assault," Melody said.

"I see, we now have five races who could work together to tackle the Grand Quest," a voice said from behind Melody. Both the commander and Melody dropped to their knee, as a woman walked into the room.

She carried an elegant flow to her, wearing a beautiful outfit, consisted of a white, short sleeveless tunic decorated with many snowflake motifs, which has revealing openings on the sides and front, revealing a rather impressive chest. These openings are held closed by a large, ocean blue obi, which has a thin, white rope tied around it, sporting a wide closing ribbon on the back.

What also closes the openings on her outfit is a lighter, smaller white belt, which is wrapped around a blue, snowflake-patterned cloth circling her waist on the front, back and sides. A long cloth hung down from her front, and another fell down from behind her. Her arms are covered in white bandages and her legs and feet are donned in white leggings and simple sandals.

"Lady Oceania," Melody said.

"Please, save your pleasantries for another day," Oceania said.

She looked at Ion, "I don't believe we've met, I'm Oceania, the Undine Leader," she said, holding out a hand.

"Ion, newbie," Ion rubbed his head, and shook the hand with his own.

"Oceania, if I am not needed, may I take a few days of leave from the forces?" Melody asked. "My friend here wants to learn to play more, and I thought I might take him to Arun."

"We'll gather the troops and get there as quick as we can, remember, there's an update that is meant to be coming out soon, I think it's about to go live," Lockster said.

"Come on Kione, Ion," Melody said. "Let's go have a drink, my treat."

* * *

Ion took a sip of an iced tea he had ordered. The three sat around a booth in the corner of an inn Melody brought them to, Aurora sat on the table, nibbling away at a sponge cake slice that Melody had bought. "So... that's the full story," Kione muttered.

"My friend, Angel, is meant to meet me at this little town called Tomoki, we were going to head to Yggdrasil," Ion said.

"Tomoki is just before the Rainbow Valley, it is beautiful, it has lots of waterfalls which create rainbows all over the place," Kione smiled.

"From what I can gather, it's the quickest route from Undine Territory to Arun," Aurora said, halfway through a mouthful.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Ion poked her face.

"We can head up to the long-distance flight tower after maybe getting you some kit," Melody suggested. "How much cash do you have?"

Ion opened his menu, and scanned his status window, "This Yld… is that money?" His eyes widened to the maximum before he glanced back at the girls. "I feel like going shopping for a lot of things."

Melody and Kione both glanced over his shoulder, and they giggled.

* * *

"Whoa… now this is a view," Ion muttered. Melody had brought him to the long-distance tower that extended high into the sky. He was now wearing a white sleeveless waistcoat with a large collar around his neck and blue marks around the center of his chest. The coat had dark blue trims all the way down to his waist, and trailed down to his knees behind him. He wore white pants that went down to his feet, which were in white boots and his hands were covered by brown gloves. Horizontally across his beltline was an Estoc he had managed to find at a player blacksmith in town, it was a white blade, with a blue crossguard shaped like an icicle.

"I know right, and if you look all the way out in that direction, you can see the World Tree in the distance," Melody smiled.

The smaller undine opened her wings, Kione did the same, her black wings twitching slightly.

Ion summoned his controller, which caused Melody to giggle, "There's an easier way to fly you know," She smiled, knocking the controller out of his hand.

Kione put her hand on the crest on his back, "Feel where my hand is?" at his nod, she went on, "imagine you have virtual bones and muscles here, spreading out to your wings, then try and move them."

Ion summoned his wings, "Virtual bones huh…?" He felt something new along his back, and acted on it. Slowly, his wings started to twitch, before they opened completely.

"That's it! You nailed it!" Melody gave him a shove, and he lifted off the ground.

"We can practice your flying on the move, what time are you meeting your friend?" Kione asked.

"Depends on who gets there first," Ion said.

He twisted his body around, getting used to the different motions needed. It was actually rather easy to figure out, the flight engine used momentum to propel a player around, and he found it was a lot like how he rode on buses or trains, move with the momentum and use it to stay balanced.

"Let's go!" He grinned.

Kione and Melody looked at each other, and giggled, jumping off the tower and joining him in the air.

"Try to keep up!" Melody taunted, and kicked out behind her.

Ion rolled his eyes, and casually caught up, "I'm sorry, is that the fastest you can go?" He asked, slowly pulling ahead of his sister.

"She's always the last one to our missions, it's because she decided to pack some extra baggage!" Kione smirked.

"I wanted to know what it was like! You're missing out with that flat chest of yours!" Melody shot back.

"You wanna go melon chest?" Kione glared at her.

"I'll take you on anytime anywhere!" Melody growled, hand reaching for her sword.

"Girls! Another time perhaps!" Ion butted in.

The two broke apart, Aurora, who was riding on Ion's head, looked between them both, "You two are weird, one moment you're best friends, the next you're at each other's throats!"

The two glanced at each other, "Meh, we just like to do it sometimes, we never really do it at school," Kione said.

"Yeah, because Lex will break us up like last time, seriously, she is one motherly canine!" Melody added.

"You're Sarah's sister, aren't you? The sightless prodigy?" Ion looked at the Spriggan.

"Yeah, good to see you Marcus," Kione smiled.

The three players continued flying for quite a bit, making small talk while they travelled. Melody soon saw Ion's wings lose their glow. "We're going to have to land, you've got about two minutes left on your wings bro."

Ion glanced at his own wings, "I see, if they lose their glow, they can't keep us aloft, right?" He guessed.

"You're right Ion, then you'll need to wait thirty minutes for them to recharge," Aurora told him.

"Long cooldown timer…" Ion muttered, his wings then stopped working, and he fell to the ground with a yelp.

Aurora pulled herself off his head, and watched him go. "There he goes," she sighed.

"Come on, wouldn't do much good if he gets killed by that fall," Melody offered a hand to her.

The three girls descended, finding Ion in a small crater, "Ugh, that sucked," He muttered, sitting up.

A window appeared, telling him what he knew already. "You ok brother?" Melody asked, dropping out of the sky to come to land next to him.

"Ugh, just peachy," Ion grumbled. He looked up at Melody. "You said I had two minutes."

Melody giggled, "I lied."

"So, we have thirty minutes, what do we do? Press on? Rotate out?" Kione asked.

"Let's rotate out, Ion, why don't you go first," Melody suggested.

"What's rotating out?" Ion asked.

"Basically, one or two of us log out, the others stick behind to watch over their body, you can't safely log off in the field in ALO," Melody explained. "Didn't you know this?"

Ion gave his sister a small glare, "Remember, this will be the first time I've logged out of a VRMMO of my own accord."

He opened his menu and went to the options tab, pressing the log out tab.

* * *

Marcus opened his eyes, and pulled the Nervegear off his head, Emma was lying prone next to him, so he gently clambered over her to go out the door and downstairs.

Warren and Amy were watching some TV in the sitting room, "The store closed now?" Marcus asked.

"Hey, you're back," Warren smiled.

"Why did you hide the fact you got Emma an Amusphere?" Marcus asked, raising his voice as he nipped into the kitchen to rustle up a snack for him and Emma.

"We just wanted to see her be happy. When she saw this new hardware for VR, one that was proven to be a thousand times safer than the Nervegear, that was the first sign of hope we got, and we took it," Amy sighed.

"Marcus, I'll have you know I dummy tested it myself before letting her use it," Warren pointed out.

"I know," Marcus said, coming in and sitting on the other couch. "Emma told me in game. Weirdly enough, she's a sergeant in some kind of military in that game."

"Emma's really gotten into ALO, she's part of the Undine Recon Division, or what she said to us," Warren smiled. "She's in charge of her own unit, who some are spies from other nations. Kione is one of her agents."

"Huh, my little sis is a recon officer, what do you know…" Marcus chuckled. "She's always been one for frontal assaults in the old games we played, and the fact she uses a Greatsword seems to add to that."

He finished eating his sandwich, and downed his glass of juice. "Right, I'm meant to be rotating out with one of the girls at the moment, so I should get back."

"Put your dishes by the sink, I'll deal with them in a bit," Amy told him.

* * *

Ion opened his avatar's eyes as he dived back into ALO. "Right, I don't mind watching the pair of you if you log out," he said to the two girls who were gossiping quietly nearby.

"Sure, be right back!" Melody nodded, and her body slumped down as she logged out, Kione followed a moment later.

Ion decided to play around with his menu, spotting a magic tab under skills. Opening it, he found three spells, one was a basic healing spell, then there was a water attribute spell and finally a status cure spell.

Ion tapped the healing spell, and several odd words appeared. Ion took a deep breath, "Su Feila Heil Astelu!" He chanted out the spell, and he was cloaked in a light green aura. "Interesting…" He smirked. "This is magic."

He then stood up, setting his sights on a low branch on a tree. Then, he raised his hand and chanted out the words for the offensive spell he had seen. Several small icicles appeared in front of him, before pinging towards the target. He had expected purple hexagons to appear, signifying an immortal object, but he found himself smiling when the shards shot right through the branch, tearing it off completely.

"Not bad newbie," A voice chuckled. "Why don't you hand over the pretty ladies to us, we'll take good care of them."

Five players, two Sylphs, a Spriggan, a Cait Sith and a Salamander emerged from the bushes around him, all of which were male.

Ion stood in a defensive stance, but didn't draw his sword yet. "Afternoon gentlemen," He said. "What did you mean by 'hand over' these girls?" He asked.

"Please," the Salamander scoffed. "Figure it out, we're slavers! We acquire high value merchandise from the playing field, and sell them to the highest bidder!

Ion hid the scowl on his face, "Well, what can one new player like me possibly do against five experiences players? Go ahead."

The two Sylph players walked towards the two logged out girls, one holding a one-handed sword, and the other a short axe. Ion waited until they got close enough.

"On second thought…" He muttered, grabbing them by their hair and whirling around, tossing them into the Spriggan and the Salamander. He then drew his estoc, settling into his stance.

"If you want to get the girls, you'll have to defeat me first," he growled.

"That can be arranged pal!" The Salamander smirked, drawing a warhammer from on his back.

The Cait Sith summoned a little red dragon that reminded Ion of Pina, and drew a short sword from his hip, while the Spriggan pulled a mace off his belt.

Ion examined their stances and rolled his eyes, "How long you want to bet this will last Aurora?" he asked.

His navigation pixie giggled, "I predict this fight will last thirty seconds."

Ion smirked, "Sounds about right," he nodded.

"Get him boys! And grab that Pixie too! Those score a huge sum on the market!" The Salamander called.

"Fire breath!" The Cait Sith said, and his little dragon spat out a wave of fire that came towards Ion. With his wings restored, the new Undine player sprang up and over the fire, before swooping down and slashing through the Cait Sith and his dragon together, the two halves of the player burned away, leaving a small orange flame.

"Who's next?" Ion asked, looking around at the others. The two Sylphs glared at him, sprinting forward to attack.

Ion held his hand forward, and started chanting the spell he used earlier. Four shards of ice appeared before him, then he waved his hand at them, releasing the spell at them.

One of them dodged by jumping to the left, but his partner wasn't as lucky, three of the shards impacting in his chest and removing all his HP. He burned away into a little green flame.

"Damn it… take this!" The Sylph remaining chanted a different spell, and around twenty razor sharp wind arcs shot at him. He dodged most, but a few cut through his health.

"Was that meant to hurt me?" He asked, shrugging off the damage he had taken and speeding right towards the Sylph, stabbing his estoc through his chest until his HP vanished. Three down.

Ion looked to the Spriggan and the Salamander. "What about you two?" He asked.

"Whoa, did we miss a party?" Melody asked, having just logged back in.

"Looks like Ion's been busy," Kione muttered, hand reaching for her Katana.

"Damn it, this mission is a bust!" The Salamander growled. "Hey, dead guys, meet back at our clubhouse!"

He then took off, followed by the Spriggan.

Ion twirled his sword, before sheathing it across his belt. "That was a great warm up, so that's combat in ALO huh?" he said. He thought back to when he summoned those ice shards. "I'm going to like it here."

Aurora giggled, "You finished that fight in twenty-nine seconds."

Ion sighed, "I'm out of practice then," He turned back to Melody and Kione. "You two good to go?" He asked.

"Yup, thanks for the food by the way," Melody nodded.

"Tomoki is just a bit further, come on," Kione said, summoning her wings again.

She and Melody took off, Ion chuckled, letting Aurora settle in his waistcoat breast pocket, "Right behind you," He said, crouching, before shooting into the sky.

* * *

Tomoki looked more unique than Aquaria. There were four entrances to the town, but two came from the tunnels that went from some cities to Arun. The city seemed to descend into a large sinkhole, the buildings formed out of the ground, some on the surface and some underground. Ion, Melody and Kione landed at the east entrance and approached on foot.

"Angel said she was going to be a Spriggan, we agreed to meet on the other side of town," Ion told his companions.

The three walked through the streets, noticing a mix of Undine, Spriggan, Imp and Leprechaun players mingling around. "Wow, look at everyone getting along!" Melody smiled.

"We usually skip this town because it doesn't have an inn to log out in," Kione said. "It's rather nice, being able to stop in this place."

Ion just looked around as he progressed through the town. It was so different to the towns and cities of SAO, which were your generic medieval styled settlements, sometimes with a twist.

ALO on the other hand… Ion realized that every city in this game was different, Aquaria was a resort, and this looked like a mining town of some kind. It made him think about what Arun was going to be like…

He approached the western gate, spotting a lone Spriggan girl leaning against a nearby tree. She had long black hair, but it was as light as possible, her eyes were purple, and they softened when they set eyes on Ion. She was wearing a short purple jacket over a black halter top that refused to hide all of her chest. She also wore a black pair of tight shorts that stopped just before her knees, finishing the look with a pair of black gloves and boots. A long black spear with a red head and handgrips was strapped to her back.

"Hey, you finally showed up!" She grinned.

"Sorry, I got held up," Ion said, pointing at their sisters.

"Who are they?" Angel asked.

"Amazing helpers, I probably wouldn't have gotten this far without their help," Ion admitted. "This is Melody and Kione."

Angel's eyes widened at the second name, and smirked. "So this is what you look like in the game…" She looked at her sister.

"And I assume you're just like this IRL, but blonde?" Kione shot back casually.

"Right, we've met with you, now we fly for Arun," Ion said. He then received a message. He opened it, "It's from Kirito, he's been held up and will make it to Arun tomorrow."

He then got another, this time from Klein, "Klein says he's about halfway there, his guild are all present and raring to help."

One more message came in, from Ren, "Looks like Wyvern's Inferno has already made it through the Ruger Corridor, they're almost at Arun," He reported.

"I got a message from Silica, she's met with Liz and are making their way to the World Tree," Angel said. "She's apparently been fortunate to have Pina again as her Tamed Familiar."

Ion smiled, looking down at his pocket, "Hear that Aurora? Pina's back!" He said.

"That's nice to hear, I wonder if she's also become an MHCP like me… or a Navigation Pixie?" Aurora popped out.

"Wait… that's Aurora?" Angel asked.

"Hi Angel!" The pixie waved.

"Right then, let's make dust," Ion said. He could see their destination ahead, it was closer, but it could be even closer than that.

All four summoned their wings, and after Melody and Kione quickly showed Angel the method of flight they used, they headed for the World Tree. _Hang on Asuna,_ Ion thought. _We're coming!_

* * *

 **Ion: So, we're all together at last.  
**

 **Angel: Pretty cool, I can't wait to see us all in action.**

 **Kione: Ion, have you got anything special planned for the World Tree raid?**

 **Melody: brother won't reveal spoilers, but look forward to something badass.**

 **All: Next Time: The Calm Before the Storm**


	15. Chapter 15: Calm Before the Storm

**SO. SO. SO SORRY for the delay! But I am back from a little dry spell of writing to give you a double whammy of SotS!**

 **I'll try to give you another chapter before the end of the month, but as I am enjoying the lovely sights of the Lake District, that might be hard to carry out.**

 **Anyway! I do not own Wyvern's Inferno or SAO. Those belong to TheSib and Reki Kawahara respectively!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: The Calm Before the Storm**

 **Title Song: Follow Our Brothers (Halo 3 OST)**

* * *

ALfheim – Neutral Territory – Arun

January 22nd 2024

* * *

When they landed at Arun's gate, Ion paused to look up at the towering tree before them. "Yggdrasil… The World Tree," He muttered.

"It… it's huge!" Angel stuttered. "I can't see the top!"

Melody and Kione shrugged, "It goes up above the clouds, there's a barrier just past them to prevent players from cheating," the former said.

"The only way up that tree is the Grand Quest," Kione added with a nod.

The four players walked through the streets, until the sound of an alert echoed through the world. "Attention players. The servers will be down today; January 22nd, from 4:00 am 'til 3:00 pm, for scheduled maintenance. We ask that that all players playing this evening please log out no later than ten minutes before shut down."

Melody yawned, "Well, looks like that's it for the day." She said.

"I say we go and find ourselves an inn and log out. Besides, if Kirito isn't here yet, we should wait for him to catch up," Angel stretched her arms.

"Ren's about to be, or he's here already, I think they may log out by now," Ion said. "Klein is still not here yet either." He got a message from Klein at that moment.

'We'll make it before the service drops, you kids get yourselves to bed,' He rolled his eyes at the 'kids' comment. He then got a message from Liz.

'We've just arrived in Arun, heading to an inn, see you at the base of the World Tree tomorrow afternoon,' He sent a quick reply to both, telling that his group had made it to Arun and were about to log out.

"Right… let's find that inn," He sighed.

* * *

Marcus rubbed his eyes the following morning. Maybe being up at three thirty in the morning wasn't a good idea… He walked into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. As he did, he heard footsteps outside.

"Marcus? You wanna get out the older consoles? Maybe play something older while we wait for the server to go back up?" Emma asked.

"Nah, I was going to meet Sarah today, we were going to head to the mall, my wardrobe could do with an upgrade," Marcus declined.

"More like she wants a pack mule to carry around her clothes, right?" Emma giggled.

"Sarah actually isn't one to love a massive collection of outfits," Marcus opened the door, and started to walk back to his room. "But I will do what a boyfriend is meant to do."

* * *

The mall that Marcus and Sarah went to was one of the larger ones in Tokyo. It had everything, clothes, food, games, stationary, gardening, sport and more.

Marcus stepped out of the male changing room, dressed in a dark blue hooded jacket, a white polo shirt and black chinos. "What do you think?" He asked.

"You tell me," Sarah smirked, walking out of the female rooms in a dark green tank top and white knee-length skirt.

"You look great in anything," Marcus smiled.

"And you're looking good yourself, try darker colors more often, you can't always wear white jackets you know," Sarah giggled.

"Yeah yeah…" Marcus grumbled.

"She's not wrong though," A familiar voice spoke up. Both turned their heads to see Alicia and Emi walking towards the changing rooms.

"Hey girls, fancy meeting you here," Marcus smiled as they approached.

"Well, with the servers down until 4:00, we've got time to kill," Emi shrugged.

"And why not burn some time with some shopping?" Alicia finished.

The two walked into the female changing rooms, a handful of outfits already selected. Marcus and Sarah watched them, "How many more do you intend to try on? I got a couple," he asked.

"Same," She nodded.

So, after the two pairs tried on a few more outfits, they decided to go get a bite to eat in a café.

Marcus took a sip of his iced tea, "So what did you guys get up to on the way to Arun?"

"Well, Helios and Dagger were hired to be mercenaries by this girl that Alice and Ren humiliated in Komori, Riku met us at the Ruger Corridor, we got separated in the tunnels by a smokescreen, in which a bunch of pervs tried to make away with Alice," Emi said, ticking them off her fingers.

"Wow, I unlocked a resurrected ice wolf turned navigation pixie, had a meeting with the Undine leader and military commander, fought a squad of slavers try to make off with Melody and Kione, mine and Sarah's sisters and arrived with half an hour to spare," Marcus shrugged.

"My trip was rather uneventful, fought a few mobs, picked up a decent spear in a neutral town, got a couple of directions from some friendly players headed towards Leprechaun Territory and met Ion and the sisters at Tomoki village," Sarah said, before taking a bite from her sandwich.

"Alice! Mai!" All four turned to see a young man walk towards their table.

"Who's this stranger?" Sarah asked.

"A piece of trash," Alicia muttered back. "What do you want Noboru?" She asked.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out sometime?" He then glanced at Alicia. "And maybe you and me could arrange a dinner together?"

"Are you kidding me?" Alicia asked, looking at him in disgust. "Do you remember what you did to us?"

"Come on Alice. It's been forever since that day. Can't you just forgive me?" Noboru asked.

"What did he do exactly?" Marcus asked Emi.

"Back in the early days of SAO, he was in our party, until he hit a rare mob that called in every other monster in the area, then he teleported away with all our teleport crystals, leaving us to fend for ourselves," She said. "Jaune and Olivia both died, before Ren, Helios and Riku arrived and saved us."

Marcus nodded, _so Alice and Mai were the party that had provoked the monster house_ , he thought, thinking back to his reminder he gave back at the floor one meeting. He then growled at Noboru. "Excuse me… Noboru? Alic _ia_ here has a boyfriend, he was the chief tactician on the frontlines, went by the name of Ren."

Noboru scoffed, "Yeah? I heard about that, what's special about him? He's probably a pathetic nerdy loser in the real world that-"

Marcus gripped his shirt, "Listen here, it's never the physical appearance that attracts the keepers, it's the character of that person's soul." He clenched his other hand into a fist, and bashed it against his chest, right over his heart, "Ren worked day and night sometimes to keep both his guild, and as many frontline players alive as he could. You on the other hand… I never saw you on any boss raids, I never heard your name get mentioned at meetings. You clearly quit the frontlines after the stupid stunt you pulled, therefore, you are nothing, and Ren is everything. Stop trying to get Alicia's heart. It will never belong to you."

He let the other man go, "Take some advice and get lost, before either Alicia, Emi, Sarah or myself punch you in the face, or the groin, take your pick."

Noboru straightened his shirt, speechless at what had just happened. "What's your name?" He asked.

"I'm Marcus, I was Ion the Arctic Swordsman in game," Marcus held out his hand.

"I heard of you, you were one of the top ten speed type players," Noboru nodded. "Alright, I'll save face and back off, I have no intention of picking a fight with you," He said, holding his hands up as a sign of surrender.

With that, the young man walked away. Alicia watched him go, glaring daggers until he left the café. "UGH! That guy pisses me off so much!" She growled.

"It's ok Alicia, we understand, I think I'd hate him too if he deserted me and my friends," Sarah patted her friend on the shoulder.

After they chatted a bit more, they went their separate ways, agreeing that they would meet at the World Tree base.

* * *

Marcus walked into the kitchen, "I don't know how long we'll need in ALO to save our friend, so I'll need a decent helping of food to keep me going," He said to his guardians. He glanced at the clock, it read 4:05.

"Emma already had that idea, so I've been preparing some monster burgers for you both," Amy smiled. "They should be ready in a few minutes."

Marcus nodded, "I'll go tell Emma," he said. Walking up the stairs, he found his sister with a pair of earbuds in her ears and her phone in front of her. "Dinner should be ready in a moment," He said, poking her in the arm.

She gave a thumbs-up, and went back to humming along with whatever she was listening to on her phone. Marcus pulled out his phone, and scanned through all his notifications. He had a couple of messages from Ryoutarou, Dan and Keiko, saying they were about to dive in.

He sent a reply to them all, reporting he would eat, then dive. Three thumbs-up emojis were sent back to him, causing him to roll his eyes.

Emma put her earbuds aside. "My contacts are coming together, we're gathering at the World Tree, Oceania and Lockster told me that the army had amassed last night after we all logged out, and that everyone would set off when the server went back up."

"I was thinking, you must have a sort of guild for all your spy network, don't you?" Marcus asked.

"Uh huh, we're called The Eternal Alliance, not my idea of a name," Emma nodded. "But it kind of suits us, we have got player builds of all kinds from all races."

Marcus grinned, his sister was a tactician all of her own, "Dan, or Ren, he was a tactician back in SAO, and definitely one of the smartest minds in the game. With his rule to try to never lose a player, and your experience of ALO, we should do fine."

Emma smirked back, "Try not to fall behind newbie," She shot back.

* * *

After dinner, the two dived into ALfheim Online, and headed for the World Tree. Already, there were players amassing there, Ion spotted Ren, Klein and Kirito on the right side, with the survivors of SAO.

On the other, was a mixed force of fairy races, who were checking over their equipment and planning tactics.

"Ion!" Klein smirked, waving over the Undine brother.

"Sergeant!" Melody heard her rank being called, and went to join the Alliance.

Ion joined his brothers- and sisters-in-arms, "Glad to see you all made it, Kirito, Klein, Ren," He nodded to each of the leading faces. Furinkazan were muttering together with the Wyvern's Inferno team behind them, and Angel was talking with a blonde, green wearing Sylph girl.

"You too, man, feels like the old days, doesn't it?" Kirito asked, glancing around at the masses.

"Yup, just like SAO, and if what Melody said, there are five armies of players that will be joining us as soon as they can get here," Ion nodded. He gasped, "Oh, Kirito, I got something for you, you might find it more useful."

Kirito looked on, curious, as Ion opened his menu, and went to the inventory screen. He slid down the list, until he found it, and summoned it to his hands.

Everyone paused, looking over at the item that spawned in his palms. It was a long black sword, with an uneven crossguard, and a silver outline surrounding the blade.

"Whoa…" An Alliance member muttered.

"I know, it almost gives this… aura of power…" Another nodded.

"What is that sword? It feels like it's seen the end of the world," Kione observed.

"Is that…?" Klein asked.

"Elucidator," All the SAO survivors said, looking at the sword.

* * *

 **Flashback**

* * *

Ion opened his eyes, finding himself standing on a transparent platform in the sky. He glanced around, finding only orange clouds, and a setting sun in the distance. Far below him, he could see Aincrad, the floating castle, start to come apart.

"A stunning view. Isn't it?" His eyes widened as he turned, coming face to face with a young gentleman in a white lab coat and grey pants. This man, he knew, was Akihiko Kayaba.

"Kayaba…?" He asked. This wasn't Heathcliff, this was the genuine creator of SAO. "What's going on?"

"We are, right now, at the stage between the game being cleared, and closing for good," Kayaba said. "All survivors will be logged out before the game ends."

Ion noticed a weight in his right hand, and looked down to see Elucidator in his hand. This made him remember that the young warrior who had wielded this blade was no more, that Kirito had died bringing down this game.

"I apologize for the death of Kirito by my hand, but it was a fight to the death, he knew that better than anyone," Kayaba sighed, glancing down at the sword. He waved his hand, and it vanished into ones and zeroes, before streaming into Ion's avatar.

"What did you do?" Ion asked, eyes wide at the sudden act.

"If, by some crazy thought, you decide to step back into the virtual world, that sword will follow you, remember that, as you leave, you take a shard of your friend's warrior soul back with you," Kayaba smiled. He sighed. "Now, I really must be going, I have much to do."

When Ion blinked, the man was gone, like dust to the wind.

* * *

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"Take it man, I feel weird just having it in my inventory," Ion smiled, holding out the weapon. Kirito gripped it in his right hand, and tapped an icon next to it to equip it. Then, with a pair of decisive swings, he put it on his back, right where it should be.

"Thanks Ion," He said. "Now all I need is Asuna, then I'm complete again."

"We'll get her back man," Ion smirked. He turned to the doors in front of them, walking up, and turning around to face the combined force.

"Players of ALfheim Online, thank you for coming together at such short notice. I'm not sure whether Melody or Kione have told you much, but we have more than the common goal here today." He glanced to Kirito. "You all want to see if this tree can be beaten. To see if there is an end game, and whether this Golden Apple really exists outside of a fairy tale."

He then looked down, "But… there are is more to this tree than meets the eye. My friends who have joined you here today, we have reason to believe that a very powerful man is holding three hundred players of the VRMMO that we came from before we came here."

A player from the alliance put his arm up, "Wait… are you implying that…" He trailed off, not sure how to phrase it.

"Yes, my friends and I come from Sword Art Online, and have come here to carry out a rule we had in that game. Never leave a man behind." Ion looked up at the doors behind him.

Melody walked up next, "Eternal Alliance, we've been preparing for this for three months, stick to your parties, watch your teammates' backs, and prove to this god that his pawns are not to bow to his whim."

Kirito drew Elucidator, "Alright then, let's do this!" He roared, thrusting it up into the air, causing the huge raid party to take up arms and join him in cheer.

* * *

 **Ion: HAHA! I am ALIVE!**

 **Melody: About time, I was wondering how long it would take before you got your groove back!**

 **Ion: Yeah, sorry. This chapter was a really pain- I couldn't figure out how to make you all look forward to the coming battle.**

 **Angel: All that matters is that you are back in action. Now get back to it!**


	16. Chapter 16: Battle of Yggdrasil

**Before we get into this chapter, I decided to add music prompts at certain points. These music pieces are what I listened to while writing the segments of the chapter and I must say I found them suiting the mood more than I expected!**

 **Nothing more to say other than enjoy, read and review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Battle of Yggdrasil**

* * *

The party leaders stepped up to the gate, Kirito had the Sylph girl, Leafa, Liz, Klein and a few others, Ion had Melody, Kione, Silica and Angel, as well as a few others of his own, Ren led Wyvern's Inferno through the giant gates, and Klein was doing the same with Furinkazan. Everyone had a look of determination.

"Let's finish this fight," Ion said, drawing his estoc.

"For all those waiting to come home," Ren added, his longsword aleady parallel with his body.

"Sasha and some of the rugrats never woke up, I won't stop fighting until they're free," Angel twirled her spear.

Kirito smirked, "Hang on Asuna… we're coming!" He grinned.

The raid party entered a massive chamber, and they all looked around, when the last person stepped into the room, it lit up, revealing this huge silo with hundreds of large crystals on the wall. Already, Guardians were spawning in.

Melody opened her menu, "Music?" She asked.

Ion paused for two reasons, one, he didn't know this was a thing, and two, he was thinking of a song.

It then clicked, and he grinned, turning to his sister, who seemed to think the same as him, "Live and Learn," They both smirked.

* * *

 **Insert Music (Live and Learn – Crush 40)**

* * *

As the guitars burst to life, the army took flight with a roar, settling into groups that would stick to their roles.

Ion was approached by his first foes, and didn't hesitate to slash through one with a speedy slash, then stab the head of a second, before he grabbed it's weapon and tossed it like a buzzsaw into a third, all three burned away rather quickly.

Angel twirled her spear, deflecting a salvo of arrows and thrown swords, before she skewered two with a thrust, then swung the long weapon like a club into a third while the two guardians were still there, she then kept spinning herself around, swatting down any of the weak soldiers that came her way.

A large group of guardians approached the group of healers, their helmets glowing green as they targeted the supporting squads. They quickly however found themselves intercepted by Lizbeth and Silica, who didn't hesitate to charge straight in.

Silica ducked under a sword, then thrust her own shortsword up through the neck of her first opponent, then twisted it before removing the head completely, she then spun around, her blade carving down through the next guardian.

A swarm of arrows came shooting down towards her, and she braced for pain. However, Liz moved between her and the incoming projectiles, her buckler taking the arrows harmlessly. The mace using blacksmith swung her heavier weapon, removing the head from one guardian, then swinging it like the clubbing weapon it was through the soft armor of the next three with ease.

Melody led a squad of Alliance soldiers through another wave of guardians, her greatsword taking out rows of them in a single swing. With a loud battlecry, she then used the momentum of her attack to launch several more huge slashes, cleaving through anything in her way.

A number of guardians tried to attack her flank, but Kione was suddenly there, drawing her katana and performing several precise slashes, cutting through their limbs, weapons and heads with ease, finishing by twirling her sword before sheathing it with a satisfying clack, the guardians exploding all at once.

Kirito was charging straight up the middle. His greatsword had gotten him to the tree, but now, Elucidator was back in his palm. Sure it couldn't use any skills, but he didn't need to, pretty much knowing the motions by himself, slashing through guardian after guardian, making his way to where he could see a large circular door above him.

Unfortunately, the guardians quickly changed to a defensive formation, creating a massive barrier with their own bodies, blocking off the Black Swordsman's flight path to Asuna. "Damnit!" He growled.

"We're probably going to need a massive battering ram of tanks to get through that!" Klein said, catching his buddy and allowing him to straighten out.

"Recon! Get back in formation!" Melody then called out, one Sylph boy, Kirito recognized him as Recon, the rather whiny boy who seemed to have a thing for his sister, had broken formation, charging forward, slashing out with a green magic whip of energy, slicing through enemy after enemy.

"Sorry boss, I've got to clear us a path!" After dispatching two more guardians, he discarded his controller, and began to chant a spell.

"Recon!" Leafa called out, "He's using a dark magic spell!"

Melody had noticed, "And it's a self-destruction spell! All forces! Regroup!" She yelled, as a huge ball of fire formed around Recon.

Ion covered up as a huge shockwave struck out as Recon's avatar detonated, causing a massive explosion. When he lowered his arms, he saw that Recon had vanished, all that was left was a remain light. But there was now a massive gaping hole in the guardian barrier.

"Kirito!" Ren called out. "MOVE!" The boy in question nodded, quickly shooting back into action, but he was too slow, the barrier reforming and getting knocked down again. Then, adding insult to injury, around ten throwing swords skewered him, before one guardian kicked him even further down.

Ion and Leafa provided healing for him, restoring his health. The guardians were starting to claim kills, two of Klein's friends getting taken out by a salvo of arrows and a sword to the head respectively.

"Damn it! We're outnumbered!" Riku muttered, balancing himself.

"No shit Sherlock!" Helios grumbled, "Tell us something we don't know!"

"Both of you shut it!" Melody snapped, causing both to clam up instantly. "We're losing too much ground! At this rate, we're going to have to retreat!"

"As much as I'm impressed you shut up Helios of all people, we really are stuck in it now," Alice muttered.

Melody was about to stop her music and call the retreat, but she paused when she saw a message. What she saw made her smile.

Ion caught her grin. She smirked, "Track Change!" She called out.

* * *

 **Insert Music (SAO: Ordinal Scale OST: Let's Join Swords)**

* * *

Before anyone could get what she meant, the Undine girl gave a wordless bellow, gripping her greatsword and charging back into the thick of things. Ion got stares from his friends.

"Don't ask me, but if I had to guess…" Ion trailed off as he heard a huge collective of roars coming from below.

Five colors of fairies shot out of the entrance tunnel, red, green, yellow, blue and black.

"Unbelievable!" Leafa muttered. "I knew that the Sylphs, Cait Siths and Salamanders were about ready, but the Undines and Spriggans made it too!"

The yellow race, Cait Siths, seemed to be riding on armored blue dragons, causing Silica to glance at Pina, "Will you turn into something that size?" She asked curiously. Pina just chirped indifferently.

Ion spotted Oceania and Commander Lockster approach, Oceania seemed to be equipped with two razor sharp battle fans, and Lockster was armed with a large Zanbato greatsword.

The Spriggan leader was a male in his late twenties perhaps, wearing a sleek leather bodysuit similar to that of a modern day special ops agent, but wore the more traditional tabi boots, ninja headpiece, mask, scarf and shin and arm guards of an ancient times ninja.

"Ryu-Sensei? You decided to join in person after all!" Kione smiled.

"Sensei?" Angel asked.

"I do more than lead the Spriggan race, I run a Ninja guild back in my territory when I'm not handling military matters," Ryu explained. "That being said…" He drew a black katana. "As Master of the Spriggan clan, I will vanquish our foes! Spriggan Samurai! Prepare to engage!"

The Salamanders were being headed by a man with red hair and armor with golden details, "My brother is busy IRL, but he passed on hopes that we can get along today. Be at ease fellow warriors! General Eugene of the Salamanders is here!" He boomed, drawing a fancy two-handed claymore.

Lockster hovered up next to him, "How about a friendly competition? Whoever gets more kills wins," She said.

"I can take that challenge," Eugene grinned.

"Sorry we took so long getting here!" A smaller Cait Sith, maybe a couple of years older than Silica, sat on her own blue dragon. "But we needed to get everything ready!" She turned to those who didn't know her. "Alicia Rue of the Cait Siths, at your service!" She gave a cheeky salute.

The Sylph leader, a woman in her late twenties, nodded in agreement, she wore a dark green kimono which showed off a ridiculous amount of her large assets. "And Sakuya of the Sylphs, you look like you need some backup."

"Still showing them off for the whole world to see? Shame on you Sakuya!" Oceania shook her head.

"Oh? Like you're one to talk!" Sakuya replied calmly. She turned to Kirito, Ion and Ren. "You can all take a break if you want, we can handle this," She stated.

"Are you kidding?" Ion asked.

"Now it feels like old times!" Ren grinned.

"Let's get back in there!" Kirito finished.

The leaders all gave a grin, "Ok Dragoons! Get ready to toast these suckers!" Alicia called out.

"Sylph Warriors! Prepare to engage the enemy!" Sakuya added.

"Salamanders! Commence attack!" Eugene pointed his sword forward.

"Undine troops! Time for battle!" Oceania rallied her forces.

From then on, it was organized chaos, Ion led a unit of Undine and Sylph soldiers up the World Tree. Silica got a ride on the back of Alicia's Dragon, Pina assisting with several different elemental breath attacks. Klein and Eugene lead a massive push of Salamanders, which slammed into the barrier with all they could give, and those who weren't on close range fighting were pelting the guardian shield with long range spells.

"Kazuto!" One cry shouted out, Ion turned to see Kirito catch Leafa's blade, then slamming both it and Elucidator together. Ion swore he saw the two crests of Spriggan and Sylph flash, before Kirito charged up the tree, cloaked in a massive funnel of purple energy, until the Black Swordsman broke through to the other side.

"Yes!" Ion grinned.

"He's through! Let's pull back, we're just causing unnecessary deaths now," Melody called out.

"Agreed! We're clearing out!" Sakuya nodded.

The huge battalion of five races made for the exit, followed by the remainder of the Eternal Alliance and the SAO survivors. "Fly Kirito… fly to the very top, and remove this false fairy king's head," Ion muttered.

* * *

When the last fairy exit the tree, the giant doors slammed shut, and everyone could relax. "Now it's up to Kirito…" Klein sighed.

"If anyone can pull it off? It's him," Liz shrugged.

"Bravo little maggots! You actually got someone past our guardians," everyone tensed, hearing a very confident voice speak above them. "He will be dealt with by my king, but you lot will now face punishment for defying monarchy." Everyone turned and looked up, seeing a woman in a fully white shrine maiden robe hovering above them on feathery wings.

"Ok miss full of herself! Come down here and make your point," Helios challenged.

"There are two things you should know, one, my name is Purity, and the second is that I will never stoop to the common rabble that you are," She said. A snow-white pair of daggers appeared in her hand, and she reached out with the other. "System Command! Set pain absorber from level ten to level six, disable all logout attempts inside Arun!"

Ion's digital blood turned cold, she was an admin! His eyes then widened as an army of Guardians spawned around her. "Alright then Guardians! Time for our favorite game! Players are worth one point, fairy leaders are worth ten points, and SAO survivors are worth fifty points! Now go!"

Melody turned to someone in her guild, a Pooka male with a lance. "You know what to do, we need every player in Arun to help us now," She said.

He nodded, chanting a spell, then, he cleared his throat. "Players in Arun! This is the guild Eternal Alliance! We need your help! A rogue GM has spawned Guardians in the city, blocked all logout attempts and lowered the pain absorber! Take up arms! Help defend our world!" He called out, his voice amplified by his magic.

"I'm going after queen bee up there, who's with me?" Ion growled.

"Count me in! Let's get her!" Ren smirked. He turned to Helios, "How about it? Want to lay the hurt?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Laughed the axe user.

"I'm going with you as well," Melody said. "She called us maggots. As a gamer, I take offense to that!" She glared at the game master.

"Everyone else, be careful when facing those soldiers, they won't kill you, but their attacks are going to _hurt_. Big time," Ren addressed the race leaders.

"We've got it! Go!" Alicia Rue nodded, her dragon already spitting flames from it's nostrils.

Ion drew his sword, summoned his wings, and shot towards Purity. The woman shook her head, "Tsk. So, you're my first victims? You don't look like much," She observed with a bored look.

"Big talk from someone who looks like Tinkerbell in white!" Ion frowned, swatting aside the comment.

"Please! This is my chess board, and you are the enemy pawns trying to attack a queen defending her king!" Purity laughed, her bow splitting into a pair of long daggers. Ion caught the two smaller blades with his own. However, his strength stat, not as good as Ren or Kirito, was no match for her, as she easily pressed him back, following up with a kick to the head.

Ren then attacked, his sword swinging in from above, but Purity struck out, grabbing him by the throat and tossing him into Melody, who had been shooting towards her, sword out in front. The smaller girl gasped, as Ren was skewered on her greatsword.

The tactician suddenly experienced unbelievable pain, as he felt the large blade sprout from his back. "My god, Ren! You alright!" Melody unequipped her sword, not wanting to extract her weapon from his torso the old-fashioned way.

"I'll live. That hurt though!" He muttered.

"Alright lady! You're going down!" Helios roared, axe coming down for a huge swing.

Purity _caught_ the axe with a single hand, eyes closed as if she saw it coming, "I'm sorry, were you trying to hurt me then or… what?" She asked.

"The hell…?" Helios growled, trying to push down with all his strength stat permitted. Purity then swung her arm, tossing the axe user around like a ragdoll. She then let go, throwing him into Riku and Dagger, who were flying up to help. All three landed in a tangle of limbs.

Ion charged back in, ducking under a couple of swings from her daggers, then thrusting out with his estoc. Purity blocked the stab, then put her daggers together and snipped through his weapon like a pair of scissors.

The Undine player's eyes widened, but before he could react, the air was knocked out of him as the woman before him slammed a heel into his gut. Ion grit his teeth before he hit the ground hard. Had the floor been a mortal object, there would be a crater where he landed.

Angel landed next to him, "Ion! Your sword!" She gasped.

"I can still fight," He assured her, and began to chant a spell.

Melody was coming back up for a go at her, spinning quickly and picking up power for her blow from the momentum. This had almost as enough of an effect as Helios' axe did, Purity blocking the attack casually with her twin daggers.

As Melody strained to get through her opponent's guard, a salvo of icicles suddenly hit the older girl. They didn't damage her, it being a safe zone, but she let out a shriek of pain.

She then swatted aside Melody and homed in on Ion, who had his hands up, glowing words floating around him as he recited another spell, this time shooting several wind sickles that blasted through the air towards her.

Purity gave a yell, kicking up and dodging the incoming projectiles, then shot down, grasping Ion by his neck and slamming him into the ground. "You'll pay for that!" She seethed.

"Man, for someone with the name 'Purity', you'd expect them to be calm and composed, but you don't seem to like magic, do you?" Ion asked.

"It's dishonorable and cheap! If I had my way with this game, I'd want it to have no magic at all, just fairies with swords and wings," Purity growled.

"Hear that guys?" Ion smirked, hearing Ren speak up. "She doesn't like magic!"

Melody gave a grin, "Kione! Give me a hand! I have an idea!"

Purity grit her teeth, and looked down at Ion, "You may have the advantage, with your GM account and fancy commands, you may believe in honor, believe me, we all do, but let's get one thing straight," Ion hardened a gaze at her. "When one of our own is in trouble? We'll do whatever it takes to get them back!"

"FIRE!" Melody yelled. She, Kione, Ren, Mai, Oceania, Sakuya, Leafa and Silica, with help from Pina, finished the chants for spells. Two blizzards, two dark energy beams, two wind sickle salvos, a beam of holy light, a fireball and a column of fire all slammed into her.

At that moment, Ion found himself breaking free from Purity's grip, and he joined in, firing more icicles at her. The massive combination of magic slammed into her, causing a massive scream of pain to escape her.

When the attack was let up, Ion nodded to them, before turning back to the clearing smoke. Purity was down, and she was twitching with pain. Ion sighed, he didn't like hurting girls, but the woman before him was just a brainwashed slave, someone who had been promised something that she would never get.

And then he found himself doing the impossible, walking up to her. "Hey, you ok?" He asked her. A pained grunt came from her, before she raised her head. "Don't move, recover your strength."

"Lord Oberon…! I failed you…" Purity muttered.

"Oberon will just cast you aside once he's done with whatever dirty secrets he's hiding in that tree, you've been following a false king, lady." Ion sighed, kneeling down next to her.

"No! He'll make me his queen! And then he'll stamp down on all of you lowly peasants!" She sobbed.

"If Oberon is who I think it is? He's already got his eyes on another girl, and she's the reason we're even here today," Ion told her. "He's been lying to you, using your blind loyalty against you to make you carry out his bidding. You're nothing more than a pawn for his master plan."

Purity looked him in the eyes, "Tell me right now, look me in the eye and tell me that Oberon is lying."

Ion was about to reply, but someone beat him to it.

"Fairy King Oberon is Nuboyuki Sugou, and he won't be causing this world anymore problems, I made sure of that," A large window appeared above them, on the side of the World Tree, on it was a certain Spriggan, around him was a complicated array of menus.

"Kirito!" Ion smirked, "Perfect timing!"

Purity looked up at the screen, "Who are you?! Where is Oberon?" She asked.

"Taken care of. And the only reason you felt that much pain was because I removed your GM powers before you got hit by that onslaught of magic. It's _over._ You have lost," Kirito told her.

Purity closed her eyes, and tears silently began to fall. Ion frowned, and put a hand on one of hers, "I hope you find your true king one day," He said calmly. Then he stood back up and returned to his friends.

"Well done guys, I'm sorry you had to cope with all those problems without me," Kirito said.

"It was nothing, the guardians weren't any different, but Purity… she was a slight problem," Ren shrugged.

"I've restored the settings changed by her, you can now log out, and pain absorbers have been reset to ten," Kirito told them.

"Good, I'm done for the night," Melody sighed with relief, causing everyone to laugh.

"Let's go find some inns and get home," Kione agreed.

* * *

Sarah stretched her arms and legs as she woke up again on her bed, across the room, her sister, Kione, was doing the same. Lex the dog noticed their motion, and stood up to fuss over her charge.

"Well. That was fun," Sarah smiled.

"I knew you'd like ALO after a day," Kione replied with a giggle.

A moment later, their parents came in, yawning. "I would tell you that you're in big trouble for being up this late…" Their mother said. "But I won't, because of how important the reason you went in for was."

"Did you win?" Their father added. "Did you get your Asuna friend back?"

"One of our friends went up and handled the false fairy king, while the rest of us took on a power-hungry girl and an army of flying soldiers," Sarah said with a smirk.

"it's over, Asuna is free and by the end of the night, Sugou Nuboyuki will be on his way to jail," Kione added with a grin.

Their parents sighed with relief, it was over.

* * *

Warren and Amy Takahiro were about to head up to bed, after making sure the house was locked up for the night. Usually they wouldn't be up this late, but they had a lot on their mind lately. Namely, their two charges.

"Do you think they'd be ok with it?" Amy asked.

"I don't know... their parents never had other siblings, so they are the last of the Cersy name..." Warren sighed.

"Do you think they won? That they saved their friend?" Amy asked.

"I won't lie that I have no idea how that world works, but one thing is for sure, if Ion survived that death game, he can do this no problem," Warren told her. "Have faith in him."

"I guess you're right," Amy nodded. Both decided to peek into the Cersy siblings' room, and spotted Marcus and Emma fast asleep next to each other. Marcus had a protective arm around his sister and she had her head resting against his chest.

"Look at them... I can't see why anyone would want to break apart a bond like the one these two have," She smiled.

"Let's leave them be. If their rigs are off, we could wake them up, so come on," Warren pulled her from the doorway. But before he went too, he looked at them one last time. "Sleep tight you two."

And as he left, both of the sleeping siblings seemed to smile.

* * *

 **Angel: Aw! That was a cute moment at the end.**

 **Silica: Yep, completely adorable.**

 **Ion: Ok, now that these two are out of the way, the next chapter will mark the end of the Fairy Dance arc!**

 **Angel: What's next?**

 **Melody: He won't say, he doesn't spoil.**

 **All: Next time: Back to Normal!**


	17. Chapter 17: Back to Normal

**And thus, I bring you the end of the Fairy Dance arc! I feel like I should have got this done much earlier than this... but oh well, better late than never!**

 **So, I hope you enjoy the end of this arc!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Back to Normal**

* * *

Marcus closed his locker, having picked up his lunch. He was headed for the rooftop, where he was meeting his friends for a get-together.

"Look who showed up at last," Rika muttered, as Marcus stepped out into the open air. "What kept you?" Sure enough, he was the last of their group to arrive, everyone having spread out a couple of blankets and were sat together.

Marcus frowned at the girl, "If you must know, I was signing up for the Kendo club, Suguha's a fun opponent and all, but I need fresh meat," He explained.

"Wow, good luck with that, don't forget that every student here was very well versed in the ways of battle," Alicia giggled.

"I dunno... The best katana player from SAO was Klein, and he's too old for school, poor sod," Marcus shrugged.

"Alright, now that we're here, let's eat!" Kazuto said.

Marcus sat down and opened a box of his bakery's bread, "Here you are, there's enough to go around," He smiled.

"What's your bread like, Marcus?" Asuna asked, causing everyone to gasp. "I've never tried it before."

"Asuna, Marcus' bakery bread is like the Holy Grail of bread, I have a feeling that if you used his bread for sandwiches, Kazuto over there would explode from the combined gold," Hyde said.

Marcus cut a slice and slathered it with butter, "Here you go Asuna," He said, handing her the slice. She gingerly took a bite… and moaned at the taste. After swallowing, she turned back to him.

"Wow…" Was all she could say. "How do you make that melting sensation on the tongue? It's so crispy outside, but then it's like a fluffy cloud inside."

"Trade secret!" Marcus laughed. "But seriously, come by sometime and I'll give you some ideas for sandwich combos."

"I'll give you a few ideas as well, I'm still rather new to this sandwich crafting, but it's rather fun to watch Marcus' reactions to my combinations," Sarah giggled.

"That's because they're so unique and delicious," Marcus told her with a pout.

Everyone laughed at the couple's antics, "I still can't believe you all dived into that game to rescue me, Kiri- I mean Kazuto I could expect, but the rest of you?" Asuna said.

"It's because you're one of us Asuna, we wouldn't sit around and wait for Kirito to come back," Dan chuckled.

"But I feel like I caused you guys so many problems!" Asuna insisted. "I feel like I need to pay you back for what you all did."

"Asuna. Let us stop you right there. We chose to come in with Kirito because you're our friend. Kazuto was planning to go in alone, and although he would end up meeting Leafa, who was a great asset and ally for our raid, I don't know if he would have made it in time," Sarah pressed.

Asuna sighed, "Alright, if you insist. But I still want to owe you back anyway. If it weren't for you guys… I would have been Sugou's puppet for life."

"Well, he's not going to cause any trouble anymore," Alicia smirked. She was right. On top of the charges he got for his work in ALO, Sugou also got another charge for assaulting and attempting to murder Kazuto at the hospital parking lot. And after Asuna gave a rather startling case of how Sugou, while under the name of Oberon, violated her multiple times. Kazuto had confirmed this, saying how he had been recording everything that had happened from entering the World Tree.

"Oh! I almost forgot! There's a party happening at the Dicey Café this afternoon, all of us have been invited, as well as Suguha, Emma and Kione," Rika spoke up.

"Yeah, I know, I got the email," Marcus nodded. "Emma and I will be there, and I know Sarah's bringing Kione."

"I'm bringing along my sister, Clair, she's met most of this group here, but she would like to get to know more about our other friends," Dan said.

"What about you Kazuto? Bringing Suguha? She deserves to be there after all her help," Alicia asked.

"Yeah! She's looking forward to meeting all of you," The black-haired boy nodded. Marcus looked to Rika and nodded. The plan was ready.

* * *

Marcus had been to Andrew's café before multiple times, usually for little meetings with his friends and even having homework sessions together sometimes. But this was the first time he had been when the café would be busy.

All six members of Wyvern's Inferno showed up, and like Dan said, his sister Clair was there as well, as did all the members of Furinkazan and Team Galactic's leading force. Sarah was delighted when she saw the familiar face of Sasha amongst the guests. "Sasha!" She grinned, glomping the woman in a hug.

"It's good to see you too Angel!" The orphanage owner smiled.

"I'm so glad to see you out of hospital! How have you been recovering?" Sarah asked.

"I'm fine, I'm happy to hear that the kids who were still comatose also have recovered quickly," Sasha said.

Sarah beamed, "That's awesome to hear!" She smirked.

Marcus sipped an iced tea, glad to see the party was going as planned. He smiled, spotting Thinker and Yulier gossiping quietly with Lind and Godfree.

The bell above the door rang as it opened to reveal Kazuto, Asuna and Suguha Kirigaya in the doorway. Everyone stopped what they were doing as Kazuto frowned. "Hold on… were we meant to be here sooner?" He mumbled.

"Nope," Rika smirked. "We gave you a later time to make sure everyone else got here before you."

Marcus laughed at his friend's confused face. "We couldn't let you get here before someone else, so we gave you a later time. But now that the guest of honor is here…"

He pushed Kazuto up onto a step, "You know what to do! Ready…?!" Rika grinned.

"Congratulations on beating SAO Kirito!" Everyone yelled, Sarah and Ryoutarou firing off confetti cannons and Andrew pulling some rope and letting a banner reminiscent of the Congratulations that would appear after a boss fight fall down above his head.

Marcus handed him a drink, "Come on, mingle a bit!" He chuckled.

* * *

The party went on long into the evening, food, drink and memories being passed around everywhere. Marcus sat down at the bar, finally getting tired, "Agil, a refil if you will," He said.

An iced tea slid up next to him, and he chuckled at the bartender's carefree attitude.

Sarah sat down next to him, "A coffee for me big man," Andrew walked over and placed a cup and saucer. "Aw… I wanted you to slide it down to me."

"Not with the china I won't," Andrew laughed. "The missus would kill me."

Kazuto and Ryoutarou sat down next to Marcus. "Bartender, Bourbon on the Rocks," the former sighed. Andrew slid him a glass of Oolong Tea.

"Agil, slide me a big boy drink," Ryoutarou then chuckled, getting an actual bourbon.

"Klein, don't you have work to get back to after this?" Kazuto asked his friend.

"Alcohol makes the overtime work faster," The former samurai said after a swig. "Besides… chick alert," He said, looking back at all the girls.

Marcus frowned, and leaned past Kazuto to bop on the head. "Back off my sister bandana boy," he growled.

"Hey Andrew, how's the Seed doing?" Kazuto asked.

"It's doing amazing!" Andrew laughed, pulling over a tablet. "Check it out. Already been downloaded thousands of times, and it's got three hundred big-ass servers running it!"

After they had all logged out, Kazuto had told Marcus about how Akihiko Kayaba had come to his aid against Oberon, and appeared afterwards, revealing how he was now one with data. He had gifted Kirito with a program called 'The Seed'.

Turns out the seed was a stripped-down version of the Cardinal System, one that could be used to create all sorts of worlds, if one had the right equipment. Once it had been declared safe, it had been released to the internet, where any gamer or game creator could get their hands on it. And that was what probably saved VRMMOs.

After the ALO incident, the genre took a heavy blow- almost fatal in fact. But using the seed program created by Heathcliff, people could safely make new worlds that could be more easily examined before releasing to the public. Some wealthy players even salvaged and rebuilt the world of ALO using the Seed. Perhaps one of the best things to come from the program was the ability to transfer accounts from one VRMMO to another game.

"We still on for tonight?" Kazuto asked Andrew.

"Yep, we're all meeting up above Yggdrasil City as planned," The big man nodded. "It'll be great to see her again."

Marcus chuckled, "Oh yeah, I can't wait to see what will have changed from the old days," He said with a grin.

* * *

Melody flew high above the surface of ALfheim, the flight restriction barrier lifted to far above the highest branch of the World Tree. She found herself thrilled that she could fly this high without any restraints.

She was wondering why her brother's friends had planned to meet here, above the new city that was at the top of the World Tree. _And what did Andrew mean when he said 'her'?_

"Sis!" She turned, seeing Ion approaching from below. He was still in the outfit from four months ago, during the battle in and outside of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. However, his estoc he had bought back in Aquaria was absent, having been destroyed during the battle.

"Glad to see you made it," He said, coming to a hovering halt next to her.

"I'm confused though. What are we doing up here?" The younger undine asked.

"Well, if you glance up at the moon in a bit, then you'll see why we're here," Ion said. As the two turned to look at the large white body in the sky.

Soon enough, the clocks in Yggdrasil City struck midnight, bells echoing around the night sky. "It's time…" Ion muttered. Melody was about to ask him what he meant by that, when she saw a massive silhouetted form descend in front of the moon.

At first, she was puzzled, wondering what the shape was before her. Slowly, she realized what it was. A large, egg shape, surrounded by projections at the base that look like they could hold some kind of power core, and roots hanging off the bottom, making the enormous structure look like it had been pulled out of the ground.

"No… what is that doing here…?" She asked, as lights shone down from Aincrad, the Floating Castle.

"What do you think?" Ion asked, grinning at the massive fortress.

"…. You can't be serious…" Melody sighed.

Laughter came from behind them, "You're his sister and you've only just realized he's a little crazy?" Both glanced back to see Angel approaching with Kione in tow.

"Big sister… is this truly where you and Ion were for those two years?" The Spriggan ninja-in-training asked.

"Yep, and now we're going back for a rematch," Angel smirked.

"We never did fully beat the game, we got to Floor Seventy-Five and went home," Ion added.

He and Angel turned fully to their younger sisters, "We reset our stats, now we're back to normal players," He said.

"Could we count on you two to carry us back to the big leagues?" Angel finished.

The four smiled together, "Yo! There you are!" They all spotted Klein coming towards them, following him was Agil as a Gnome, Silica, Liz, Cyrus, Thinker and Yulier as Undines, Jupiter as an Imp, Saturn as a Leprechaun and Mars as a Salamander, Sasha as a Sylph, Kirito, Leafa and Asuna, who was also an Undine, and Wyvern's Inferno, with Ren's own sister Clair joining the guild as a newcomer, she, like her brother was an Imp, armed with a katana, and went by the name of Himiko.

Ion laughed at all their friends coming towards them. He opened his menu, and scrolled down to a new tab he had discovered.

"What are you doing?" Melody asked him.

"This," Ion said, as music began to play around them.

* * *

 **Insert Music: (Butter-fly (KEHVEN Version))**

* * *

"Shall we go?" Angel asked, as the two sisters flew off to join Himiko.

Ion gave a big grin, "Yeah! Look out Floor One-Hundred! We're coming for you!" He yelled, before he took Angel's hand. "Hold tightly," He warned her. Angel giggled, before Ion kicked out, shooting after their friends at top speed.

Onwards to new adventure.

* * *

 **Ion: And that is it for Fairy Dance!**

 **Angel: Short, but it's effective, giving summeries about the stuff that happened with Sugou and The Seed. What do you think Silica?**

 **Silica: ...**

 **Ion: Silica?**

 **Silica: Sorry! I was listening to that song you had inserted at the end.**

 **Ion: Yeah. I love it as well, such a good song!**

 **Melody: So. What is next? GGO? Or an original equivalent?**

 **Ion: Well... TheSib did have Wyvern's Inferno dive into Fire Emblem and Galaxy Six, so I might do that, or alter the GGO arc a bit.**

 **Angel: Well, whatever happens, I'm sure your readers will love it!**

 **All: Next time: A New Adventure!**


	18. Chapter 18: A New Adventure

**Hello from the Peak District! Camping is getting on my nerves, we still have TWO more campsites to go to before we get home! Oh well, at least I can still get my writing done for you guys! Honestly, you guys make my day when I need a pick-me-up.**

 **So, on with the Story, I decided to disregard a GGO or similar arc, because I need time to think of that idea in better detail before delivering, so, in the meantime, please enjoy a new, original arc!**

 **Read, enjoy and review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: A New Adventure**

 **Title song: A New Adventure (Fairy Tail 2014 OST)**

* * *

The date is December 15th, 2025. An entire year had passed since SAO was finished, and ten months since the efforts of Kirito, Ion, Angel and a number of friends old and new dived in to free Asuna and the remaining three hundred players trapped in ALfheim Online from their comatose condition.

The VR world had almost died that day, but thanks to, ironically, the man who started SAO in the first place, the genre pulled through. ALO was reborn, and Aincrad returned from the grave in all it's digital glory.

Marcus was sat down in the Dicey Café, enjoying a calming afternoon with his friends, Sarah, Asuna, Keiko, Dan, Alicia, Emma and Chair. School had just broken out for winter and they had come to have a small celebration after everyone was out.

"Man, that BoB thing was pretty damn cool. Maybe I should give GGO a try," Marcus was saying.

"I know, that Sinon girl was something else. I like a player who can last a long time, and she's got guts in a Battle Royale themed event," Emma chuckled.

"Where is Kazuto?" Keiko asked.

"He went to pick up Asada from her school so she could join our celebrations," Asuna said.

"The bell above the door chimed as in walked in Kazuto and a girl with black, short thin hair tied in small ribbons by the sides of her face, with the back cut short. A pair of oval-shaped glasses were over her eyes and she was wearing a black cardigan over a white shirt, she also wore a black pleated skirt, high socks and shoes.

She paused, seeing all of Kazuto's friends sat together, Marcus chuckled, and stood up, "You're Shino Asada, right?" He asked. At her nod, he smiled, "I'm Marcus Cersy," He held out a hand.

"Nice to meet you," Shino took it and shook. She glanced at the others, nodding at Asuna.

"Ok, introduction time," Marcus said. He turned to his girlfriend, "First, there's Sarah Radcliffe, AKA Angel, demon with a spear and sweetheart to kids." Sarah laughed and waved. Marcus then gestured to Keiko. "This is Keiko Ayano, AKA Silica, badass dragon tamer and the animal kindgom's best friend." Keiko blushed at the compliments.

Kazuto took over, "This is Ren, real name Dan Hiryo, he's a genius when it comes to coming up with strategies that get results, and he's invaluable in a fight," Dan smiled and shook Shino's had.

"Next to Dan is his sister, Clair, a newcomer to the virtual world, but our friends are helping her advance in leaps and strides. She goes by the name Himiko."

"It's because of Kione taking me to Ryu's dojo in Spriggan Territory," Clair shook off the praise.

"Then explain how you saved me from that Mimic with a couple of mere cuts? Those things can have ridiculously high health!" Emma pointed out. Clair couldn't reply to that.

"Other side of Dan is his girlfriend, Alicia Tsuki, terror with a scythe and carries the moniker of Berserker Lotus, in game, she's called Alice." Alicia just smiled warmly.

Marcus then jabbed his sibling in the ribs with his arm as he sat down, "And this little rebel is my sister, Emma, Recon Commander of the Undine Military and Greatsword master," He laughed, pulling her in for a noogie.

"I am not a rebel!" Emma objected.

"Then explain everything Counsellor Sumar told me about how you had become so much trouble while I was trapped in SAO," Marcus pointed out.

"Don't forget me," Andrew's voice carried across from the bar. "Shino, good to see you again, I'm Andrew Gilbert Mills, welcome to my little slice of sanity."

"And again, I'm Marcus Cersy, also known as Ion, the Arctic Swordsman," Marcus smiled. "Welcome to our group of friends."

* * *

Shino was quiet to begin with, still getting used to interacting with the group of friends, but she gradually got better. Marcus was telling her about the battle of the World Tree when Andrew got his attention.

"Yo, Marc, you seen this?" He asked, placing a tablet in front of him. Marcus, halfway through having a sip of his iced tea, gasped at the headline of the article. Therefore, he started choking as the cold drink slipped down his windpipe. Andrew chuckled, giving a big slap on the back.

As he recovered from the ordeal, he read the article. "'Lævateinn has been mentioned in ALO, in the fiery world known as Muspelheim! This dungeon is below that of the world of Jotunheim and is the hottest quest in the game, reaching temperatures higher than the Dungeon housing the Soul Blade Kagozuchi'."

"Toasty," Emma muttered.

"Quiet, there's more," Marcus said. "'There is an unknown number of bosses in the dungeon, but be prepared to possibly face Sutr and Sinmara, the lord of Muspelheim and his Consort respectively. Sinmara herself is the owner of the legendary sword, and will fight to keep her weapon'."

He put down the tablet, and whooped, "YES! That's MY sword!" He laughed. He turned to Kazuto. "When Excalibur pops up, I'll help you get it, if you help me with this mission."

Kazuto sighed, "Alright, I can't stand to see a friend beg," he chuckled.

"I'll help you as well, with promises of Gungnir when it is released," Sarah laughed.

Marcus groaned, "How many legendary weapons am I going to have to help with?" He asked.

"I think that's all of them, so, what's the team going to be?" Kazuto asked.

Marcus looked around at his friends, "Who's busy this evening?" He asked.

No hands went up, "Ok then, I'm going to need vanguard, Kazuto, Sarah, Emma, that's you," He said.

"You got it, remember, Excalibur."

"I'll do my part."

"No problem bro!"

The three named players all said respectively.

"Middle group will be Keiko and Kione," Marcus went on.

"Me and Pina won't let you down!"

"Yeah! Legendary weapon hunting is fun!"

Keiko and Kione both added.

"And support will be myself and…" He paused, "Shino, why don't you tag along? I want to see how you've been adapting to ALO, we're going to be the back row."

"Prepare to be impressed," The sniper grinned.

"We'll meet at Lizbeth's smithy in Yggdrasil City at 8:00 PM sharp," Marcus said.

* * *

Ion took the basket full of potions from an NPC, "Argo, I need to know what you've got on Lævateinn." He was still wearing the same outfit he wore during the ALO incident back in January, the only addition he had made was a steel shoulder guard and bracer on his free arm.

"Not much, snow boy," He was chatting with the renowned info broker who had been a massive help in SAO. Argo 'the Rat' as she liked to be called, was a Cait Sith, and several whiskers were around her nose. "Since it just dropped, no one really has tried and failed to complete it so I have no real intel. There is a rumor that the boss will be almost the quality of a Floor boss, so if you're going, good luck."

Ion nodded, "Thanks Argo, when we next talk, hopefully, I'll get to show you a shiny new sword."

He gave her a small pouch of Yld, and she disappeared quickly. He walked down the streets until he spotted a golden sign above a door, of an old spartan helmet. Pulling open the door, he was greeted with the sight of his team sat in the waiting area.

"There he is!" Melody smiled. She was wearing a new outfit, consisting of a light blue corset under an ocean blue sleeveless vest, held together by a belt that was strapped under her upper chest (which was no longer what it was before), a pair of black elbow-high fingerless gloves were on her arms and a high collar was around her neck. At her waist was a brown belt with a silver buckle and a small pouch for crystals. Below the waist was a long blue cloth, trailing down the front, and a wider, cape-like garment was behind her back. Under the blue was a pair of black skinny shorts with a gold pattern down one leg. She finished the look with knee-high leggings and tall black boots with an ornate gold pattern.

"What did Argo say?" Kirito asked. He had changed his avatar, changing his hair style to a not-so-spiky setting for Yui, and was now wearing a new black coat.

"As much as you predicted, no one's gotten 'round to trying it yet," Ion told him.

"Ion, Melody, are you sure you both will be fine on this quest? Fire dungeons aren't the most idea place for Undine avatars," Yui asked, from where she was sat on Kirito's head.

"I'll be fine, I'm not leaving that dungeon without Lævateinn," Ion told her.

"I've been to many dungeons in Salamander Territory, I'm alright as well," Melody shrugged.

"Are we all ready?" Ion asked his full team.

"Almost, Liz is just finishing Angel's spear," Silica said, Pina chirping calmly from her lap.

"Correction, I _have_ finished Angel's spear," Liz grinned, holding a bundle of weapons in her arms.

Kirito was armed with Elucidator, because it was such a good sword, and a second sword that was called Divination. It was a blue bladed sword with a black grip and crossguard, a blue mark was on the middle.

Angel's spear was a black metal shaft with a silver blade at the end, purple leather was wrapped around at several points, acting as grips, it was called Hell's Enemy, and was Lizbeth's greatest spears she'd even made. Angel herself was wearing a sleeveless black crop top, with rectangular and diamond shaped cutouts around the neckline, she was also wearing a purple belt over black, tight fitting pants. Over her shirt is a long deep purple coat with white lining, Finishing the look, she wore black, thigh-high boots with purple colored edging around the top.

Kione was armed with her trusty katana, Buriando, crafted by Spriggan leader Ryu's best blacksmiths. She was wearing a black leather breastplate over a tight grey corset. A cloth was below her face, which was usually up over her mouth in the open. Below her waist, she wore short black shorts and pants with cutouts revealing her legs, into knee high shoes that let her footsteps stay silent. Her arms were covered by grey sleeves up to a pair of black fingerless gauntlets. She now looked like a true ninja.

Silica sheathed her weapon, Soul of the Dragon, the blade was short, with green coloring to the blade and a light blue crossguard that looked like a pair of dragon wings and grip that looked like a dragon tail. She was wearing a blue variant of a mix between her old yellow coat and her red coat from SAO, but this one seemed to have a hood.

Sinon, the newcomer to the group, wore a green coat with a white breastplate, a black choker around her neck and a belted quiver was strapped to her back, draped over her shoulders. Under the coat was a black undershirt and short shorts, and she wore black boots. Unlike her IRL appearance, she had ice blue hair, like she did in GGO. A white longbow was given to her, called Hunter's Reach.

Melody took her new buster sword from Lizbeth, and gave it a once over before smiling. It was bigger than her old one, with a silver blade around a black center, a black guard was at the base, before a blue grip. It was a commission she made for Liz, and she was beyond pleased with the result, called Epsilon Melforce.

Ion finally took his current weapon from Liz, an estoc called Shooting Crystal. It had a blue hue to it, taking the characteristic of Blue Ice, the strongest natural ice there was, with a small pommel and a black guard. Then, he took his other equipment, a staff, the pole was a dual color of white and blue, spiraling up to a grey grip, then a bit further to where the head was, a crescent moon with a blue gem floating in the center. A metal pattern surrounded the head, taking the shape of some kind of flame, and two blue gems hung off the metal with chain. The staff was called 'Twisting Wills', and it allowed increased range and power with his spells for less MP usage. He had gotten this staff from a field boss in June, and he had been working to max it out.

"Alright, looks like we're set!" He smiled. He looked around at his teammates. "I really appreciate the help from you guys. I promise to make it up for you."

"Don't sweat it, how often can someone say they helped get a Legendary Weapon?" Kirito stopped him.

"Yeah! Now let's get that sword!" Melody cheered.

* * *

 **Ion: So, without further ado, Welcome to the L** **ævateinn Arc!**

 **Angel: So it's time to enjoy some ordinary questing for once?**

 **Melody: Whoo! Bring it on!**

 **Ion: Settle down, of course, I'm sort of making this up as I go, I need to come up with the bosses for this arc, so we'll see how the next chapter goes!**

 **All: Next time: Muspelheim!**


	19. Chapter 19: Muspelheim

**I feel good to be back on a roll like this, that's FIVE chapters in a week! WTH!**

 **I like what I have done with this chapter, with some combat as well as some fun, plus, a badass AI moment.**

 **R & R!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Muspelheim**

 **Title Song: Mt. Blaze/Mt. Blaze Peak (PMD Red/Blue Team remix - TGH)  
**

* * *

If you wanted to visit Hell, Muspelheim was a very close equivalent, with jagged rocks speared out of the ground, dark, ashy clouds above, intimidating forts, erupting volcanoes and raging rivers of lava. At the center of the hellish world was a castle forged out of black stone and obsidian, stood tall on a mesa over a huge lake of magma.

The entrance to this fiery world was by a network of caves in Jotunheim, Ion led his team through one such cave, which went down deep into the underworld, until they came out on a cliff, overlooking Muspelheim.

"Ok, I take it back, this isn't toasty, this is one massive oven," Melody sighed, wiping sweat from her brow.

"I know, it's very unpleasant heat, but we must press on," Ion told her. "Here, let me cast a burn resistant spell, it might help quell the hot air." And he closed his eyes, chanting seven words of the ALfheim Language until they glowed, a red ring appearing around the team of seven as the buff was applied.

"That's not a massive help, but I do feel better," Kirito smiled, unzipping his coat and rolling up the sleeves.

"Let me know if it gets worse again," Ion told them.

"Ok brave leader, what's the plan?" Angel asked.

"Well, if I was a Fire Giant King waiting for his army to grow to a stage where he can begin the event known as Ragnarok, I would want to be seen as a powerful being by everyone here. Therefore, I propose we investigate the main castle first," Ion said, pointing at the massive fortress in the distance.

"Then let's go, since players can't fly in Muspelheim or Jotunheim, we've got a long way to go," Sinon said.

* * *

The team of seven set out, trekking at a brisk pace through the fields of Muspelheim, keeping an alert eye out for monsters that might prove a threat to their quest.

"Fire Wolf Pack approaching from the north!" Aurora shivered. "As a former ice wolf, I request defeating them quickly."

"It's ok Aura," Angel smiled at the wolf-turned-pixie.

Four red wolves leapt over some rocks, "Spread out! Don't let them surround you!" Melody called, as the group reached for their weapons.

Kione and Angel ran one way, causing one wolf to chase after them. The lupine creature barked, before pouncing at the smaller Spriggan. She twirled around, slashing across the wolf's belly and taking around half of it's HP with her.

Angel quickly sprang into action after that, leaping up before chanting a four word spell, her spear growing wings before she threw it down at the wolf, the wings flapping twice, increasing the speed and velocity of the long projectile, and found itself in the neck of their shared target, causing it to blow into shards.

Ion opened his menu, switching his magic staff for Shooting Crystal, drawing the thin sword and lightly slashed another wolf, causing it to chase after him. He ran a small distance before hearing the sound of a projectile hitting flesh. Turning, he saw two arrows with glowing rope sunk into it's torso.

"Finish it!" Sinon yelled, having ditched her bow to keep the wolf from chasing Ion. He nodded, his sword glowing white before he pierced their target's head with the skill Linear, which reduced the rest of it's HP to zero in no time.

Silica sprang over the third wolf, spinning and slashing across it's back and getting it's attention. "Pina, bubble breath attack!" She instructed her faithful dragon. The little winged familiar nodded, chirping before firing a salvo of bubbles that impacted against the wolf's flank, causing it to stop in confusion.

"HEADS!" Melody's giant sword slammed down across it's neck, landing a clean slice and removing the head completely. Melody herself grinned as she put the sword in the ground, turning to hold up a hand for Silica, who promptly gave her a high-five, the wolf exploding behind them.

Kirito drew his two swords as the last wolf challenged him alone. Yui took to the air as he twirled his sword around before putting it across his shoulders, glowing blue. The wolf leapt at him, fangs and claws ready to tear him asunder. His glowing sword moved, slashing against the exposed chest, landing three lightning fast cuts before backflipping, kicking the wolf away as he did.

Yui, watching her father in battle, noticed something. As he had backflipped, he had thrown Divination into the air. With a flash of inspiration, she flew up, before changing into her full human form, grabbing the hilt of the blue sword and letting gravity guide them both down. She let out a cry reminiscent of her dad's battle roar, as she plunged Divination into the wolf from above, herself landing on his back as the blade pierced through the furry animal. Bursting apart into shards, Yui landed on her butt with a small yelp.

"Nice work team, especially you kiddo!" Ion laughed, he ruffled Yui's hair as they regrouped.

"You really are the daughter of The Black Swordsman. Only he could come up with such a crazy plan," Angel added with a laugh of her own.

"I just did what I thought was a good idea, but I'm glad to have helped you in more than just the role of an observer," Yui giggled, transforming back into her pixie form.

"Well it was a brilliant idea, you really will become a fine swordswoman one day," Ion said, echoing what Kirito had said back in SAO, when they had entered the dungeon under the Black Iron Palace.

* * *

It was around half an hour after they had gotten back into their walk across the fiery world when Silica and Sinon both noticed something.

"Hey, hold up," The young Cait Sith called.

"Yeah? What's up?" Asked Kione.

Silica and Sinon glanced at a few creatures off to their right. "I've seen those before, they're mounts that can be tamed by the Cait Sith's," Silica said. She was pointing to a herd of quadruped animals, with a black and dark blue armor on their bodies, heads and legs. Under the armor seemed to be a lizard-like creature with blue and white smooth skin. On the armored head, there were some with lightning bolt shaped spikes, some without, and there were a number of spikes on their backs. To finish, they had a long, sleek tail.

"What are they?" Asked Ion.

"They're called Raid Dragons, and even though they can't fly, they can go _very_ fast!" Sinon said.

"Do you think you could tame some so we can pick up the pace?" Angel asked.

"Tame? No problem," Silica smirked, Pina chirping next to her. Sinon pulled out a whistle, and a small green dragon familiar appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Three should do it, Silica, since you have the higher skill in beast taming, you get two," Sinon told her fellow Cait Sith.

The two cat girls walked up with a purpose, refusing to show fear in the face of these creatures. A shriek came from one, as it noticed Sinon, while Silica walked towards where two were grazing on magma crystals.

Sinon started chanting a spell, and a glowing blue rope appeared in her hand. Then, with a good throw, she hooked it around the Raid Dragon's neck.

Silica had done the same with her first dragon, then started pulling gently, slowly getting closer to the creature.

Simultaneously, the two jumped and landed on the Raid Dragon's backs, just below the neck. Both glowed briefly, before the rope vanished.

Once the first two had been tamed, the other one was easy. Silica guided her dragon up to the other one, and quickly roped the dragon, and hopped across.

"There, that's three!" She called over.

"Ok, now this is cool!" Melody whooped a moment later, as the three Raid Dragons bounded across the Muspelheim field. She was sat behind Sinon, while Kirito and Kione sat behind Silica. Ion and Angel were riding on the third, and it was easy to see that they were all having a blast.

"Next stop: Sutr's Keep!" Ion laughed.

* * *

With the help of the Dragons, the team made it to the castle in ten minutes. Leaving their mounts at the base of the bridge, they approached the gate. As they did, a massive, four-armed monster dropped down from the battlements. **"Who dares approach the fortress of King Sutr?"** It boomed.

"We have come to challenge the owner of the Holy Sword Lævateinn!" Ion said, without fear.

The giant seemed to stare, before it snorted **"HA! King Sutr's Consort is too busy to fight with fairy insects like you! Besides, the only way this door will open is if the keys from Sutr's generals! I hold one, but I will not even show it to you tiny creatures unless you return with the other three!"**

A quest accepted marker appeared above his head, Ion turned to his friends. "Ok, looks like we have a Search and Fetch quest. We don't know what these generals are capable of, but my guess is they'll probably be a lot like four arms here," he said.

"Right, with the help of the Raid Dragons, we should be able to look for these generals much quicker. Yui, Aurora," Kirito called the attention of the two pixies. "Do you have any idea where these Generals will be?"

Aurora and Yui glanced at each other, and nodded. "The three forts closest to here," They both smiled, pointing to three structures.

"You mean that all those mobs we sidestepped on the way up…" Angel guessed.

"Now we get to kill them," Aurora nodded.

"Oh joy," Ion sighed.

* * *

It wasn't too bad as they thought, the common mobs were fire elementals and golems of varying minerals. Inside the walls of the forts were smaller, but still rather large fire giants, which were armed with a variety of swords, axes and clubs.

The General was the problem, he didn't call for adds, which was a relief, but he was armed with two spears, of which he kept trying to skewer the team of fairies on.

Angel blocked one of the spears coming down on Kione with her own, grunting at the weight, "That's one!" She called.

Melody then pinned the other spear down with her sword, "That's the other! Ion, finish it!" She yelled.

Ion nodded, finishing the chant for a torrent of water to gush against the General, causing his HP to drain to zero. With a rumbling roar, he dropped to his knees before bursting into shards. Ion smiled as he got the item 'Gate Key'.

"One down, two to go!" He called.

* * *

This they did two more times, having to adapt to dealing with the General each time as they each had different weapons, one using a huge hammer, the other with a large sword and shield. After obtaining the third key, they rode back to Sutr's Castle.

Ion walked up to the General guarding the main gate. **"** **Well little fairy? Did you manage to collect the keys?"** The giant boomed.

"Why don't you see for yourself!?" Ion called up, showing the three large black keys that they had earned. "We did our end of the deal! Hand over key number four!"

The giant laughed, **"Foolish insect! Did you think I would hand over the key to my King's Palace without question?! No. Now I will crush you, and return those keys to where they belong! Now come and face your death!"**

With that, he stomped his foot down, causing a shockwave that pushed each of the team back. As three HP gauges appeared next to his head, the name 'The Gatekeeper' appeared above him.

All seven took positions and pulled out their weapons. "Alright guys! Boss number one! You ready?" Ion asked.

"YEAH!" Everyone cheered.

"He's going to punch! Look out!" Aurora called from Ion's shoulder. The vanguard leapt aside as The Gatekeeper lunged out with a fist, aiming for Melody, who blocked it with her sword, but the force smashed her into the ground with a crash.

"He's going to throw boulders next!" Yui warned from Ion's other shoulder. The Gatekeeper grabbed a pair of massive rocks, and with a grunt, he tossed them into the air. They collided midair, causing the debris to rain down upon the fairy team, crashing into the vanguard and middle groups, causing damage upon them, on top of that, Kione was pinned under a larger boulder.

Ion got to work, raising Twisting Wills as he finished the chant for the biggest healing spell, enveloping his teammates in a green aura. Then, he glared at the boss. "Sinon, let's hit him with some strong water powers!" He said to his fellow ranged player.

"You got it!" She grinned, readying an arrow in her bow. It lit up blue as she pulled back and let fly. The arrow smashed into The Gatekeeper's face, exploding into a small glacier before sprouting out the back of his head.

Ion then finished his chant, firing a huge stream of ice at the boss that crashed and shattered against his torso and head.

"Hit him with elemental sword skills while he's dazed!" Kione called, gripping her katana as it glowed green and slashing out against The Gatekeeper's bottom right arm with a slash of compressed wind.

Silica then took her short sword which glowed yellow and sliced through the boss' bottom left arm with crackling lightning.

Angel twirled her spear which glowed violet, before leaping up and stabbing down upon the upper right arm with the blade coated with darkness.

Melody then vaulted herself into the air with Epsilon Melforce which glowed like a sun, before swinging the buster sword over her head and down upon the top left arm with a holy force.

Kirito roared as he charged forward, Elucidator coated with roaring flames. He jabbed The Gatekeeper five times, then slashed down, followed by a leaping slash up his chest, finishing with a massive slash down the boss' torso, this was the one-handed skill Howling Octave, and was one of Kirito's favourites. A massive explosion of fire blasted across The Gatekeeper's wounds and the fire giant detonated into shards.

Everyone cheered as congratulations lit up above them, windows appearing revealing loot and rewards. Kirito handed the fourth Gate Key to Ion, who smirked, taking the key as well as the others and putting them into the four holes in the gate.

As the keys turned as one, Ion turned back to the team. "Alright, before we move inside, let's take the time to restore HP and Mana. When inside, we'll stay in battle formation. Kione, can you please cast a night vision spell upon us so we can see at all times?"

Kione nodded, raising a hand and chanting several ALfheim words and quickly casting the required spell. They all then pulled out health potions and restored their HP.

"Ok, Kirito, take point," Ion smiled, once they were at full strength. The Spriggan nodded, walking through the opening gate and into the looming great castle.

* * *

 **Ion: If anyone recognises the appearance of the Raid Dragons, I'll give you a gold star.**

 **Melody: Isn't it Rai-?**

 **Ion: Silence! It's not for you to guess!**

 **Silica: I really liked the fight against the wolves and the taming segment.**

 **Yui: I loved getting to land a finishing blow!**

 **Angel: I think everyone will like that part kid.**

 **All: Next time: Dragon Slayers!**


	20. Chapter 20: Dragon Slayers

**Hello readers! I give you a double whammy of SotS! Sorry for the delay, I've been trying to get a job, so I've been patrolling the net and local towns for anything that can get me started in the working life.**

 **Also, I've really gotten back into Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds after I started playing Yu-Gi-Oh Pro on PC, (that game is addictive sometimes!) and I've started a brand new 5Ds story called Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds Battle Forces! If you take a visit, just to have a peek, you'll see a few familiar faces as well as some new ones! All in all, please go give it a look!**

 **I don't own SAO! Only my OCs!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Dragon Slayers**

 **Title Song: To the Ends of the Earth (Nathan Sharp)**

* * *

Sutr's palace was complex maze of twisting corridors and staircases, but following the guidance of Yui and Aurora, who were actively scanning and updating their data of this massive fortress.

Silica walked next to Kione, the two were behind Kirito, Angel and Melody, and Ion and Sinon were behind them. This was a standard formation for all their friends, the tanks and heavy hitters in the front row, damage specialists in the middle, and long-range weapons and magic in the back.

She kept alert as they walked through the dark corridors, the night vision buff keeping her able to see in the black corners. As she put her foot down, she felt it sink a little, causing her to pale. "Guys…?" She spoke up, coming to a halt.

"What's up… oh." Melody turned, spotting her predicament. A ominous creaking sound echoed through the halls, the way forwards and behind them suddenly slammed shut.

"Oh brilliant…." Ion sighed, before he noticed their new problem.

"The walls!" he yelled. True enough, the walls were closing towards them, causing all seven to worry.

"Why must every dungeon have this crappy trap! Everyone get pressing the slabs until something happens!" Angel called out.

"Yui, Aurora, you need to give us a hand," Kirito said to the two pixies, who changed into their human forms to help them escape the incoming walls.

Ion patted each stone slab, and stamped on each brick on the ground firmly. _Come on… Where is it?!_ He growled.

"I got it!" Aurora called from next to him. He whirled around, seeing her pushing in a brick on the wall. She grunted and yelped as the brick fell out and a button was revealed. She quickly punched it, and the trap was reset.

" _That_ was a close one," Melody sighed, as they all dropped to their butts in relief.

"I'll say, well done Aura!" Angel grinned.

"I gotta say though, why didn't you and Yui just scan the trap and go straight for the trap release?" Sinon asked.

Yui and Aurora glanced each other, before giggling nervously. "We forgot." They both said, causing the fairies to facepalm in disbelief.

"That was my fault guys, I triggered that trap," Silica muttered.

"No sweat, you didn't know that slab was booby-trapped," Kione said to her. Pina landed on her owner's head, and chirped warmly, calming the young Cait Sith down.

"Right, minor inconveniance aside, let's get back on course," Ion chuckled.

They got back in formation, pressing further into the castle.

* * *

Kirito let out a bellow as he thrust Elucidator through a fire serpent. "That's the last one, door should open now," He said, sheathing his blades on his back.

"Yes, but there is a trap on the other side, me and Aurora are trying to identify it, but it's being rather vague," Yui said, coming back to sit on his shoulder.

"We know it will activate when the last member of the party walks through, but there's no more data on the details other than that," Aurora added from on Ion's head.

"Alright, you heard the girls, stay alert guys," Ion told the group, receiving nods from each member.

Everyone walked through, Ion being the last one through, the new corridor lit up red, and an alarm blared. Ion was looking above them, keeping an eye on the ceiling. Suddenly, steel bars shot down.

"Bars! They're trying to divide us! Kirito! Move!" He called. Kirito dived right, as the bars sliced down where he had been.

"Crap…" Melody muttered. On one side was Ion, Kione and Angel. The other, Kirito, Silica, Melody and Sinon.

"Well this could be worse, but it can work. Melody, you'll have to switch to healing over there," Angel said.

"Healing isn't the problem," Ion said, Pina on his head.

"Pina!" Silica yelped.

"She's fine, but she's stuck on our side of the bars," Aurora said.

"The relief for me is that despite this separation, we both have one pixie on our side," Kirito said.

As he spoke, two sections of the wall, one on either side, moved aside.

"It seems we're going to have to split up," Ion sighed. He turned to Silica, "Allow me temporary ownership of Pina for a bit, don't worry, I'll keep her safe in the back with me."

Silica looked hesitant to split up from her trusted partner, but nodded, opening her menu and going to skills, tapping on her familiar tab and making a few commands.

Ion had a window appear before him, 'Silica has trusted you to take care of Pina. Don't let her down'. He gave a salute to Silica.

"I've just scanned the trap, it's designed to split up the party, but the two paths will regroup at a large hall on the other side," Yui spoke up.

"Alright, we'll meet up on the other side," Kirito said. "Good luck." And with that, he led his team along the corridor on their side.

"Come on Pina, let's go," Ion said. Pina squalked reluctantly, but followed Ion down their pathway.

* * *

Silica thrust her water covered shortsword into the flames of a fire elemental, "Pina! Water Breath!" She called, but quickly remembered that Pina wasn't there.

Fortunately, a water arrow sliced through the elemental's head, and it shattered.

"Hey, you ok?" Sinon asked.

"Just worried about Pina…" Silica sighed.

Kirito decapitated the head off the last golem, then turned to her, "I know you care for Pina, after all, I was there, helping you and Ion get her back after she was killed on Floor 35. However, you need to adapt to not having her by your side."

She lowered her head, he was right. "You rely too much on her during your fights, you need to get used to fighting your own battles. Remember your skills when we were on the Hill of Memories."

She clenched her fists, and steeled her resolve. "Right! I'll adapt. And after we're done here, I'm going to train to fight with my own power, and not rely on others all the time."

"That's the spirit. As a Cait Sith, you have the power of a tamed familiar, so it's alright to have them help you, but maybe, just an idea, try creating an alternate avatar of a different race," Melody said. "An example is me, I've got a Pooka avatar, which is a fun change, with all their musical buffs and abilities."

"Shall we get back to meeting up with the others?" Kirito asked, causing her to nod with newfound confidence.

* * *

"Kione, give me a hand here!" Angel called, twirling her spear to deflect several fireballs.

"You got it sis!" Kione ran in, sliding under the Salamander Mage's legs and slashing up it's back and slicing it in two lengthways.

Ion had switched to his sword, letting off a flurry of jabs at a Fire giant, before ducking under it's sword and springing back, quickly chanting the words for a lightning spell, zapping the giant a few seconds, whittling down it's health. As it recovered from the onslaught of volts, Ion was already in motion, sword glowing green with wind magic, slashing four times up it's chest and finishing with a strong cut across it's neck, the wind helping to slice the head off completely.

As it shattered, he sighed at the challenge their enemies were providing, they didn't have as high HP as if they were up against a full party, thankfully, they were weaker than normal, but it was still much harder to keep up his spellcasting while not getting caught in close quarters combat.

"Nice work team, Aurora, how much further before these paths come back together?" Ion asked, Pina coming back to land on his head.

"Not much, a few more twists and turns, I'm getting regular updates from Yui as well, they're almost there," Aurora said.

"You two really are a special team," Angel smiled, finishing a red potion.

"If you were real kids, you'd be incredible in technology, I say you'd ace anything that teachers threw at you," Kione smirked, sheathing her katana.

"Right, praise for Aurora aside, let's press on," Ion chuckled, as Aurora blushed at the compliments. His two teammates nodded, and they set off again at a dash.

* * *

They rounded a corner, just as Kirito emerged from the far end, "We just beat you! Yes!" Ion laughed.

"I wasn't aware we were racing," Kirito chuckled, Silica barreling past him to reunite with her feathered friend.

"Pina!" She cried, grabbing the little dragon and pulling her into a hug.

"Easy there! Don't squeeze her too hard or she'll pop!" Melody reminded her, causing Silica to let the familiar go quickly.

"Ok, we've regrouped, back to full formation, everyone be ready for what's next," Ion said.

"Right, I expect a boss beyond that door," Kirito nodded, looking at the door.

"Are we all ready?" Angel asked, causing everyone to nod, Yui coming to join Aurora on Ion's shoulder.

The seven fairies approached the door, a pair of levers sat on the wall next to it. Kirito and Melody grabbed one each, the two having the best STR stats of the group. With a heavy pull, the levers went down and the door creaked open.

All of the team prepared their weapons, walking into a massive chamber that just screamed _'Boss Ahead!'_. A huge gate was at the far end, which started to rise as the party approached the middle of the room.

Everyone flinched as an earthshaking roar filled the room, Silica and Sinon having to cover their cat ears due to the noise. Then a series of echoing thuds stomped in the darkness, but they sounded like they were getting closer.

"Loud roar?" Ion glanced at Kirito.

"Four thuds in quick succession?" The Black Swordsman observed.

"Dragon?"

"Dragon."

And a dragon it was. A large, red scaled head emerged first, an impressive crest was behind the bright, glowing yellow eyes. The head was held up by a long neck, which extended once the dragon walked through the gate. Two large, scaly wings unfolded as it entered the big chamber, easily reaching the entire width of the room. It's feet were thick as oak tree trunks, and the claws looked like they could slice through the strongest armor. It's tail then emerged, trailing behind it, and a very thin and sharp looking tip, with an ornate pattern.

"It looks hungry," Sinon muttered, eying those massive teeth, as the team grabbed their weapons.

"Nah, he's just smiling at ya," Ion joked, but twirled his staff, ready to provide his magic, opening his menu and heading to music.

"What're you putting on this time?" Asked Silica.

* * *

 **Insert Music: Sannin No Dragon Slayer (Fairy Tail)**

* * *

Melody glanced back at him and rolled her eyes, "Really?" She asked.

"What? I can't help it if this absolutely matches the scenario!" Ion shot back.

Three HP gauges appeared above him, as did his name. Ignis, The Fire Dragon. "Ok guys! We've fought dragons before! This guy won't be much different! Just remember all the usual attacks and keep an ear open for Yui and Aurora's advice!" Ion called.

"You got it!" The full team called.

The dragon began by rearing it's head back, embers spitting as it's maw opened. "Breath attack!" Kione observed. "Divide!" The moments the words left her mouth, the dragon let lose a blackish flaming stream. The team divided, back into their sub-teams from earlier, this time, Pina going with Silica.

"Weak spots are the insides of it's mouth, it's stomach, and any other soft spots!" Ion called, chanting his favorite icicles spell, sending a salvo of the frozen projectile into the dragon's mouth as soon as the fire attack let up, Sinon firing several ice arrows aside him. Ignis roared at the defiant move, raising a front paw to swat the mage and archer duo aside.

"Ion!" Melody called, her sword in motion as she swung towards the dragon's right wing. However, Ignis seemed to see it coming, his tail swiping her off her feet in the direction of her brother.

Silica and Kione used their agility to jump up on the back of the dragon, Silica cutting at the neck while the Spriggan ninja ran down Ignis' back, slashing at his spine between the scales. Ignis didn't like this, his head turning around quickly, throwing off Silica and spitting a fireball at Kione, who was forced to leap clear.

Kirito and Angel were next to attack, the Black Swordsman's twin swords cutting at the soft flesh under his muzzle while the female Spriggan thrust at one of his reptilian eyes. The dragon's left wing pushed her away, and his right paw knocked Kirito into the wall.

"He hits like a truck, no surprise there," Ion grunted, helping his sister up.

"And he seems to be intelligent, he knows how to counter our attacks with effective moves of his own," Silica muttered.

"Alright, we'll just have to be careful and be a little unorthodox!" Kione said.

Ion smiled, "If you want unothodox…" He said, before chanting a spell. The others counted him speak up to twenty words, the highest he had even gone around them.

"Try this!" He said, finishing the chant. Above him appeared to be a white light, but there was darkness in the middle. The ball fired out a powerful beam of this black light, slamming into Ignis, draining his HP.

After ten seconds, the spell let up. Ion smirked at the HP gauges, seeing that he had taken a huge chunk out of the first bar. "What was that?" Angel asked.

"Well, that update back in May brought more than the Elemental Sword Skills, my favorite thing it brought was Dark Magic spells that combine elements, that was Holy Darkness, a light and darkness fusion," Ion said. "They can only really be used by mages with high MP."

This was apparent by the fact his own mana gauge was now at a quarter. Kirito smirked, "Nice trump card, let me know if you need some extra mana potions to keep those up!" He chuckled, before sprinting back to attack Ignis.

The fight progressed rather well after that, "Fire breath! He's aiming for us Ion!" Aurora called. Ion sweatdropped, chanting a spell. A high-powered torrent of water gushed out from the tip of his staff, clashing with the fire. Understandably, when the rivaling elements collided, steam formed.

"My bad!" Ion yelled, seeing Sinon giving him a nasty glare for shutting down her line of sight. He grit his teeth in annoyance to himself. _Why did I counter that with water? I should have known it would form steam. Now what?_

"I have an idea of how we can turn this into our favor, I'll need a couple mana potions after this!" He then called.

"What are you going to do…?" Melody trailed off as Ion began chanting another dark magic spell.

As he spoke, it was getting noticeably colder. Ion finished chanting, "Eat this! Sub-Zero Slammer!" He yelled, a combination of snow, wind and water swirled together at the tip of his staff. Then he let the spell go, the combination spell forming a massive swirling tunnel of icy water and wind.

This had two uses, and he was planning to use both. The first thing noticeable was the fact that the steam seemed to be forming ice dust, effectively clearing the room of steam. Ion smirked as the spell drilled into Ignis with all his mana.

"Whoa…" Melody muttered.

"Holy…" Silica started.

"… Cow," Kione finished.

With a finishing burst of power, the magic cored Ignis out completely, you could see through his massive form to where the spell had exit through the soft spot between his wings.

"Perfect bullseye!" Ion grinned. The boss shattered, and the gate opened, lighting up the following room and revealing a staircase.

Everyone cheered at the effective end to the boss fight, "Nice work brother," Melody said, first to approach her sibling.

"Like I said, can I have a couple of extra M potions?" He asked with a chuckle. Everyone noticed his MP gauge was completely empty, which was never a comforting sight for a mage.

Melody quickly sent him two potions, which he downed in quick succession. "Thanks, Aurora, Yui, status report of the dungeon, how are we doing?" He asked.

"We're about two thirds through, the Gatekeeper was the first and Ignis was the second," Yui said.

"Understandable then that the final boss fight will probably be King Sutr or Lady Sinmara, perish the thought of possibly both at once or in sequence," Ion said.

He looked at the stairs ahead, "Right, when everyone's back up to a safe stage of HP and MP, we'll press on," He told them. _And get me a legendary sword!_

* * *

 **Ion: One down, One to go!  
**

 **Melody: we won't stay long as the other chapter's right there.**

 **All: Next time: Regicide!**


	21. Chapter 21: Regicide

**Since I said all that was necessary in the last chapter, I'll just remind everyone about my new story, Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds Battle Forces! Go check it out!**

 **Read and review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Regicide**

 **Title Song: Regicide (Michael Salvatori,** **C Paul Johnson and Skye Lewin)**

* * *

"Has anyone else noticed how warm it's getting?" Melody asked.

"It's worse than outside… if that's at all possible," Kione panted.

"Let me try my burn resistant spell again," Ion said, and chanted the words for the spell.

As the buff was applied, it was Sinon who first noticed it, "Melody! Your clothes are becoming transparent!"

Melody glanced down, and yelped, noticing her shirt was becoming see-through, and her skin was becoming visible. She glanced around, "It's effecting all of us!" She noticed. Angel and Kione glanced down, wearing black had it's perks. But Melody, Silica and Sinon were desperately trying to hide.

"Strange… I thought sweat wasn't a factor in VR," Kirito noted.

Ion stood next to him, "Idiot, turn around before you get clobbered!" He hissed, having already turned to look away from the girls' dilemma.

"Shall I cast a blizzard spell and cool us down?" He then asked, not turning around.

"The heat might be too strong for it," Yui said, wiping a droplet of sweat off her brow.

Kirito looked over to see that Aurora looked like she was melting. "This heat is going to kill me…" She mumbled.

"Ok, cover up what might be visible, I need to turn around to cast the spell," Ion said, getting annoyed at the slow pace they've been reduced to.

With scary fast accuracy, he recited the words for the basic ice spell, a snowy blizzard pulsed out from him, washing over his team. Their HP drained a little from his spell, since it was an attack, but the most noticeable effect was that their clothes started to dry from the cold winds.

"How's that?" Ion asked.

"Much better, good job Ion," Sinon sighed with content at the temperature.

"Good, then let's move on!" Ion grinned.

* * *

The team pressed on through the dungeon, methodically cutting their way through the adds, until they reached a large pair of doors at the top of a grand staircase.

Everyone turned to Ion, "Ok guys, I'm going to safely assume that this is it. Behind those doors is probably the Fire Giant King Sutr and/or his Consort, Sinmara." He glanced down at Aurora, who was hugging a small ice cube.

"What do you think is going to happen?" He asked her.

"I assume the boss will approach when we get to a certain trigger point, if it's Sutr, judging from what I've picked up on Norse Mythology, he'll be very confident in his abilities, but we have no knowledge of any weapon he uses. Sinmara is easier to figure out, since she's the owner of Lævateinn, expect her to be a melee fighter, like the Gleam Eyes boss from old Aincrad, but don't forget she'll probably have fire based special attacks as well," Aurora said.

"To be honest, I'm hoping for Sinmara," Kirito muttered.

"I just pray to god that it's not both," Sinon sighed. "That would be a nightmare."

No one could argue with that, both would be problematic. Ion clapped his hands, "Well, standing around out here won't beat this boss, whatever it is," He told them. "Battle formation."

Everyone got into formation, and Kirito, Angel and Melody all pushed the large doors open. The first thing that they all felt was the heat, it felt like they were walking into an active volcano.

 **"** **Brave Fairy Insects. You have done well to make it this far."** A deep, booming voice called through the massive room. **"I am Sutr, King of Muspelheim. Welcome to my court."**

The huge room lit up with flames on both sides of the room, fenced off by bars of black stone and metal. Then, they were able to get a look at the huge shape that was getting up off a gigantic throne.

Sutr was at least fifteen meters tall, and had crimson-red skin. He had black fur coiling around his arms and legs and wore plate armor, a single piece that was the size of a small boat, on his waist. The upper part of his body was bare, revealing a massive six-pack that looked like it would repel anything that hit it. The giant had a large, black mustache, red and bleak eyes and wore a black metal crown on his forehead.

"Geez…" Ion mumbled. He then steeled his resolve. "So, you're the King of this lovely world?"

 **"** **I am, and before we get any further, meet my consort, the lovely maiden, Sinmara,"** Next to him was a smaller throne, and a second shape stood from it.

This giant was twelve feet tall, but definitely carried the figure and curves of a woman with ash grey hair and piercing yellow eyes. She wore a black metal breastplate over a white dress, her shoulders were covered with black pauldrons and black bracers around her wrists. She wore black armored boots that came up to her knees.

Ion's eyes however drifted to the thin long sword that was strapped to her hip. _There you are…_ He thought, setting eyes on Lævateinn.

 **"** **Why have you invaded my palace, brave fairy insects?"** Sutr asked.

Ion broke formation to walk up to the front. "We've come here today to challenge you for that holy sword," He stated firmly, pointing at Sinmara's blade.

Sutr seemed to pause for a second, before he snorted, breaking into booming laughter. **"You slaughtered my soldiers, slayed my pet, and entered my throne room, all so you could get my consort's sword?!"** He demanded.

"What's to not believe? Me and my comrades won't leave here until Lævateinn is in my possession," Ion said, folding his arms.

 **"** **If you wish to take my weapon, you must first prove yourself worthy,"** Sinmara spoke for the first time. She reached down, and grabbed the hilt of her sword, and pulled it out.

Lævateinn was a black sword with a golden line straight down the middle, all the way to a thin pommel that was golden as well. The hilt under that was wrapped in black leather. A small gleam shone as the light of the flame reflected off the tip.

 **"** **If you defeat my consort in battle, you then will face me. As king of Muspelheim, I must bring justice to my people's slaughter,"** Sutr then added.

 **"** **Come Fairies of Alfheim, let me see if you are worthy to wield my blade,"** Sinmara said, settling into a stance. Her name appeared over her head, as did three HP gauges.

Everyone drew their weapons, "Alright guys, try to conserve your HP potions for after Sinmara, we still have Sutr in the back," Ion said, twirling his staff before getting ready to support his team.

"Yui, Aurora, make sure to observe their attack patterns," Kirito told the Pixies, then he added, "Remember, when their HP hits the halfway point, expect their attack patterns to change big time," He told the group.

"Roger!" The seven fairies nodded in unison.

"She's going to charge!" Yui called first. The moment she said so, Sinmara crossed the room with startling speed, Lævateinn poised to cleave them all in to pieces.

Kirito and Melody roared, their weapons moving to catch the large blade, albeit with difficulty. While they held Sinmara in place, Angel, Kione and Silica leapt over the two defenders, Angel using her spear to pole vault higher, to land several speedy hits. Silica using the four-hit skill Rapid Spin, curling into a ball and slashing quickly with her short sword, Kione using the single-hit Tsujikaze, drawing her katana and cleaving across Sinmara's side and Angel using the two-hit Helical Twirl, spinning around to hit the boss in the neck twice with her spear's blade.

"AOE! Shockwave incoming!" Aurora yelped. The five melee attackers gasped at her call, and leapt back as Sinmara twirled her sword and then stabbed it into the ground, causing a wave of force to pulse out.

"Jump to avoid!" Ion yelled. In succession, all members of their team sprung over the blast wave. Kione, however got her foot caught by the tail end of the attack, and stumbled as she landed.

Angel reached out, steadying her sister, "Easy there, that would have been embarrassing," She chuckled.

"Attack at will! She's catching her breath!" Ion called, noticing that the giant before them was panting slightly. He then started chanting a spell, and fired off twenty or so sickles of wind that sliced into Sinmara. Sinon, stood nearby, loaded three arrows at once, firing them in a 45-degree arc that rained down on the boss, adding to the damage dealt.

"Breath attack! Cone AOE!" Yui called, as Sinmara began to inhale deeply.

"No, you don't!" Ion yelled, chanting another spell. "Try this! Tempest Lancer!" A mix of lightning, water and wind forming into a circle appeared before him.

"Everyone down on the ground! I don't want to hit you by accident!" He called to the others.

Sinmara let out a fiery column that she aimed in a wide arc, Ion, at the same time, released his spell, which collided with the flames, wherever they went. Sinmara moved her head, the fire following, and so did Ion's aim, after a clash for ten seconds, the two attacks cancelled out.

"Nice work Ion!" Kirito called. He sent the mage some mana potions, "Here, have a couple of those!"

The fight with Sinmara went on for a good fifteen minutes, whittling her HP down with sword skills, magic and arrows. Ion noticed that her HP just dipped into the yellow, which was the last of her three health gauges.

"Attack pattern's changing! Stay alert!" He called out.

Sinmara suddenly cloaked herself in fire, and bent low. "Flame Charge! Scattered formation guys!" Kirito yelled.

Everyone split up, standing in a staggered line, no two members were in the same line of fire, no matter how you looked at it. Sinmara kicked behind her, rocketing towards Melody.

"Get ready sis!" Ion chanted a spell, before a funnel of white doves flew from his hand, forming a defensive bubble around his sister. Melody then took a defensive stance.

Sinmara's Lævateinn slammed against Epsilon Melforce, Melody pooling all her STR into keeping herself from being obliterated. The female Undine gave a roar, her sword bursting into flames as she activated a sword skill, spinning and allowing Sinmara to pass her, then she brought her greatsword down upon Sinmara's back, landing a large amount of damage.

Kione then leapt over the almost horizontal boss, flipping before slashing twice with her katana. Angel and Kirito both leapt over as well, cutting several chunks of HP out of Sinmara.

She got back to her feet, but Ion was already in motion, his estoc out, glowing with holy light as he activated the five-hit skill Neutron. Four lightning fast jabs against her torso, before landing, twirling and running her through.

Her HP dropped down to the last quarter of the last bar, **"Fairy Warriors, you have bested me,"** She said, collapsing onto one knee. **"I am of my word, Lævateinn is- URK!"**

A massive blade sprouted through her chest, and her HP dropped to zero. **"I did not say you could decide when you lose, Sinmara. For your weakness, I sentence you, and these fairy fools to death!"** Sutr growled, standing up from his throne. The huge sword reversed course, leaving her broken form and returning to Sutr's outstretched hand.

 **"** **Brave fairy, Sutr will be preparing for Ragnarok soon, unless you defeat him here. If he is defeated, then his armies will splinter without leadership."** Sinmara croaked out. **"The least… I can do… is fulfil your reward."**

She held a hand over her blade, and it started to shrink rapidly, until it was the same size as Ion's Shooting Crystal. She nodded to him, and he hesitantly took the sword, and a window flashed in front of him.

' _You have obtained: Lævateinn! You will need this weapon to inflict the finishing blow to Sutr, the Fire Giant King!_ ' He gasped, and tapped on the sword, equipping it to his avatar.

 **"** **I… know… you… can beat…him…"** Sinmara gasped out, before she shattered into thousands of shards of data.

Ion stood up, and glared at Sutr. Wordlessly, he drew Lævateinn from his beltline, and pointed the tip at the Fire Giant King. He then opened his menu, and went to the music tab.

* * *

 **Insert Music: David Chappell - Heroes Never Die [Epic Heroic Orchestral Action]**

* * *

"I need you guys to keep up," He told the others, before he vanished in a white blur, slamming into Sutr with the skill Shooting Star. Before he was immobilized, he sprang off Sutr's body, landing in the middle of the room.

Angel then sprinted past him, the skill Sonic Lance activated, thrusting once, she hit Sutr in the chest. While he glanced down at her, she thrust again, into the wound she just inflicted.

Kirito then charged in, right hand sword lit with roaring flames as he initiated the eight-hit combo of Howling Octave, five rapid fast stabs, before he slashed down, leapt up with an upward cut, before landing one big slash down his chest.

Melody nodded to Kione, and she put her greatsword on the ground, Kione stood on it, before Melody lifted it into the air with a mighty swing. Kione used the action like a springboard, katana glowing black as it drew from it's sheath. She let out a roar, landing five razor fast, deep cuts in a star shape on Sutr's chest.

Melody then came in, her greatsword glowing blue as she leapt into the air, spinning three times before her massive weapon collided with the boss, chipping away even more of his HP.

Silica turned to Pina, "Bubble Breath, let them recover!" She told her faithful companion. Pina chirped, flying up to Sutr's head height and spitting out a bunch of bubbles that popped near his face, causing him to get drowsy.

"Get back! Regroup!" She called out to the five attackers, who were just recovering from the post-skill immobilization. All five did so, leaping back to join her.

"That run was pretty decent actually," Ion said, looking at Sutr's HP, it was just under halfway. "I think that Lævateinn has a buff for this fight. Yui, Aurora, what's the quest log saying?"

"Avenge Sinmara," The two said at the same time.

"Yep, I thought so," Ion nodded. A sudden fire arrow flew over them, splintering into a series of five fireballs, slamming into Sutr's face.

"You guys get back in there! I got your back!" Sinon called, already preparing her next shot.

"Ready guys?" Kirito asked. Unified nods came from each of the team.

" _CHARGE!"_ Ion yelled, the group taking off at a sprint, their weapons lighting up with one of the six elements in game each.

Kirito held Elucidator out in front, roaring with flames, as he led with the skill Vorpal Strike, stabbing the boss with a heavy thrust that impale his lower chest.

Angel was next, her spear being coated with earth shards as she activated the skill Nine Hells, a nine-hit skill, all thrusts which progressed up the target, finishing with a stab at the neck.

Melody's greatsword lit up with darkness oozing off the blade, before she carried out the skill avalanche, her sword slamming down on the top of Sutr's head with a mighty crunch.

Kione followed up with Buriando glowing blue, water trailing behind her as she leapt up and struck out with the two-hit Vertical Arc, her sword slashing down diagonally across Sutr's chest, then a second slash up in the other direction.

Sinon released an icy arrow at the same time as Silica commanding Pina to use her holy breath attack, the arrow left a large iceberg in Sutr's chest, and the breath of light slammed into the giant's head. Silica then jumped back, bouncing off the wall behind him, before unleashing the skill Rapid Spin again, her short blade coated in light.

Ion's brand new Lævateinn glowed green and wind surrounded the blade as he unleashed the high-powered skill called Crucifixion, a six-hit skill that composed of three hits vertically, followed by three going horizontally, creating the figure of a cross that dug through the last of Sutr's HP.

The giant king gave a furious roar as he dropped to his knees, **"You may have bested me in combat, but I won't be destroyed so easily!"** He grunted, his body starting to glow.

Ion's eyes widened, "He's going to blow! Everyone with me!" He yelled.

The full team gathered around, as Ion switched back to Twisting Fates, and he started chanting a spell, consisting of ten words. A beam shot from the end of his staff, impacting the ground before them, and a large earth barrier rose from the ground.

Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the room, everyone stabbing their weapons into the ground to prevent themselves from getting blown away, Sinon holding onto Kirito's Divination while Ion held onto a small reserve dagger he held for emergencies.

When the shockwaves dispersed, Ion was first to peer around from the wall, which was partially molten on the other side. When he did, he couldn't resist a whistle of relief. "He took practically the whole room with him!"

"Daddy! A warp zone appeared where Sutr self-destructed! It will take us back to the entrance to the castle!" Yui said, pointing to a blue field on the ground.

"Well, how about that? I think we're done!" Angel chuckled.

"We did it!" Melody cheered.

Ion held onto Lævateinn, looking at a small diamond shape at the hilt. This was his now, a one-of-a-kind weapon that he owned. "Liz is going to freak when she gets to work on this."

* * *

Liz hummed happily, working on the black and gold sword that Ion had brought back. She gave it a quick sharpen on the grindstone, and gave it a shine with a rag. "There you go! Man, really good job to you guys," She said, putting it back in it's scabbard and handing it to Ion, who gave her a small pouch of coin.

"You know we wouldn't have been able to even go if you hadn't worked on our weapons this morning," Melody told the leprechaun.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat," Kirito yawned. As he did, so did half the group.

"Damn it Kirito, contagious yawns aren't fun," Sinon muttered.

"I'm going to log out, haven't eaten since we logged on," Ion said. He turned to Melody, "Let's go see if Amy's got food ready."

She nodded, and the two siblings headed off to the nearby inn to log out.

* * *

Marcus stretched his aching limbs as he got up from the bed, once he had sensation in his legs, he walked downstairs to see Amy pulling a couple of Pizzas out of the oven.

"Ah, there you are, I was about to come up and give you a shake for dinner," She smiled. "How'd your adventure go?"

"We went to the ALfheim equivalent of hell, fought some wolves, rode some dragons and invaded a fire giant king's castle," Emma said, walking in.

" _And_ got a legendary weapon," Marcus grinned, pumping a fist.

"Well, why don't you tell us about it over pizza?" Amy chuckled.

* * *

 **Marcus: So, legendary weapon arc complete and I have Lævateinn!**

 **Emma: Good for you, now, what's the story about 5Ds?**

 **Sarah: Marcus has started a brand new Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds story involving familiar faces and new ones. There are no original cards involved, every one is a legal card made by Konami.**

 **Marcus: She's right, and soon enough, I'm going to need some OCs and decks for the Fortune Cup arc.**

 **Kione: Marcus will hand out a profile to fill out when we get closer to that event though, so for now, just sit back and wait patiently.**

 **All: Next time: Absolute Sword!**


	22. Chapter 22: Absolute Sword

**So... all I have to explain for my lacking of updates, is Destiny 2 hit the shelves, and it is SUCH A GOOD GAME!**

 **I swear, the first ten minutes of the campaign has more story than the entirety of Destiny 1, including all DLC.**

 **If anyone ever needs a fireteam, my Xbox One Gamertag is TRIDETxSNIPER. And before you ask, yes Trident is mispelled, I was a kid when I made the name.**

 **On with the chapter, I had fun with this one, because I wrote some fluff, some suspense, and then we have a certain inspirational badass making her debut in my tales.**

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Absolute Sword**

 **Title Song: Journey - Destiny 2 (Kronos Quartet) (LISTEN TO THIS TRACK!)**

* * *

Marcus knocked on the door, then made sure his hair was all tidy and ready. The door opened, and he was greeted by a blonde woman, with violet eyes and fair skin. "Mrs Radcliffe!" Marcus said, bowing lightly.

"Hello Marcus, come in, Sarah's just going over herself now, she'll be down momentarily," The woman said. Marcus walked into the house, and sat down in the sitting room. Kione and Lex were sat together, the former in an armchair in the corner, and the latter by her feet.

"Hey Kione," Marcus called over. "What have you been up to?"

Kione didn't turn to his voice, and Marcus then noticed that a pair of earphones were on her ears. Marcus then looked down at Lex, "Could you get her attention?" He asked her.

Lex stood up, and nuzzled Kione in the leg, and she took out her left bud, "Hello?" She asked.

"I asked, 'what are you up to?' but I can see clearly," Marcus commented dryly.

"Sorry Marcus," Kione said. She held up her phone and pressed a button, "Pause music," She instructed, the music that was coming from the bud stopping. "Even though I can't see, I still can use voice commands," She said.

"Nice, what were you listening to?" Marcus asked.

"Nathan Sharp and Amanda Lee, those two always make great music," Kione said. "When you stopped me, I was listening to 'Perfect by Design'," She added.

"Of course you would, it's such a good song!" Both heads turned to the voice of Sarah coming in. Marcus' eyes widened at the sight of his girlfriend, she had straightened her hair and it looked even shinier than usual. She was wearing a purple jacket which was open, showing a black shirt and a crimson red skirt, she also wore black leggings that went down to a pair of black boots.

"You look amazing as ever," He told her, giving her a kiss on the lips.

"Thank you, you're looking pretty sharp yourself," Sarah pointed. Marcus supposed that was true, he was wearing a sky-blue shirt and a dark blue jacket, black pants and boots. "No white is a rarity though."

"Meh, I thought that I should wear something else than white for this," Marcus shrugged. "Shall we get going? We've got a long journey today."

Sarah nodded, and the couple left the house together, walking down to a white and blue motorcycle. Marcus pulled open the compartment under the seat, and pulled out a black helmet, tossing it to his girlfriend. He then took his own white helmet, and put it on.

The two mounted the bike, and Marcus turned on the engine, he felt Sarah's arms grip to his sides. "Ready back there?" He asked.

"Yup, off we go!" Sarah smiled.

* * *

Marcus pulled to a halt, kicked the stand down and got off, then helped his passenger off. "Here we are," He said, taking off his helmet.

"Where is 'here' again?" Sarah asked, removing her own helmet and allowing her hair to fall freely.

"We're in Himeji, Hyōgo, come on, I'll show you what we've got planned today," Marcus said, taking her hand. He kept walking until Sarah gasped, looking up the hill.

"You didn't…!" She said.

"Welcome to Himeji Castle," Marcus said, looking up at a massive ancient fortress, high up on Himeyama hill, right in the middle of Himeji city. "It is the oldest standing castle in Japan, originally built in 1333," Marcus told her, as he took her around the beautiful complex of buildings and walls. They walked around the main keep, as well as the other structures in the compound, Marcus continuing to provide all sorts of information and facts about the Castle.

* * *

"Why did you bring me here Marcus?" Sarah asked, as they sat down on a bench down the hill to take a break.

"… Next week is the tenth anniversary… of my parent's deaths."

Sarah could say nothing to this, only putting an arm around him.

"I've never told you about them, have I?" Marcus realized. He sighed, looking up at the clear blue sky.

"My mom… she was adventurous, excitable, eager. Dad was the calm one, he would always take his time, observing all the possible outcomes before choosing the best option. They were archeologists, they sometimes could spend weeks on the other side of the world, uncovering the history of our planet and it's civilizations."

"They'd been called out to the Nazca Lines, having received word from an American business partner that a new temple had been uncovered," Marcus swallowed, and Sarah could tell he was reaching a sour part of his tale. "They were betrayed. The American triggered a trap, causing Mom and Dad to get stuck in a chamber."

"When their assistants managed to blast the door down, they were met with a grisly sight…" Marcus told her.

"News reached me and Emma the next morning, we were heartbroken. Luckily, Warren and Amy also heard the news, and took us in, allowing us to stay with them. When I reached sixteen, I instantly signed up to help, Emma, although she was only eleven, decided to help Amy in the back."

Marcus sighed. "I brought you here… because… this was the last place that Mom and Dad took us before they died."

Sarah wiped away some tears of hers, before she handed a handkerchief to him, allowing him to wipe his eyes clear. "I needed to come here, to see one thing."

He stood up, heading back to the bridge near the entrance, Sarah in tow, when he came a stop, she came to a halt next to him. There, on a chain of padlocks, were four that seemed to stand out.

"They're still there…" Marcus mumbled, beginning to tremble with sadness. Sarah looked down, and saw that there were names on them. And she recognized two.

Marcus Cersy  
Emma Cersy  
Nolan Cersy  
Mira Cersy

Marcus turned to Sarah, "Please, here, go buy a lock, and put your name next to ours," He smiled, handing her a yen. Sarah nodded, and walked over to a kiosk nearby, where a woman was selling troves of them.

She examined them all, before one caught her eye, it had a black ring, and a purple lock. She pointed the lock to Sarah, who handed her the yen in exchange for it, as well as a little key.

She returned to Marcus, who was stroking the lock with his mother's name on. She wrote her name on a tag, before hooking the lock and tag around the chain, next to Marcus' name.

"Thank you, Sarah. I'm glad to have you for my girlfriend," He said, taking her in his arms and hugging her warmly.

* * *

"Hey, you hear about Zekken's challenge?" Sarah asked. The couple were sat in a café, not far from the castle.

"Yeah, I'm not sure if I should take the challenge or not," Marcus said. "Emma gave it a go, got her butt whooped in the sky and on the ground."

"Kione's been watching the duels, but she never fought herself," Sarah said. "I gave it a go, but Zekken tore me a new one."

This surprised Marcus, "You were beaten by Zekken? I've not been, and Emma refuses to talk about how badly she lost. So what's the story?"

"We're talking an Imp, with light armor, equipped with a thin sword, almost like Asuna's rapier and your old estoc," Sarah said. "Why didn't you go and cheer her on?"

"I had other things going on that day," Marcus shrugged. He glanced out the window, spotting Himeji Castle from over the buildings. "Again, I need to thank you for coming with me today, I really appreciate it."

"Why didn't you just tell me though? And what about Emma?" Sarah asked.

"Emma handles this time of year in her own way. Would you believe me if I said she often meditated when this event comes up?" Marcus asked.

"Meditate?! Emma?! Are you sure? Those two words don't really work in the same sentence," Sarah laughed.

"No joke, she usually heads to a hill just out of town, and just relaxes, listening to music while just sat under a tree that Mom took us on picnics whenever she came home," Marcus chuckled.

"So. Back to Zekken though. You planning on taking her on?" Sarah asked.

"If Kione loses, then I'll take her on myself," Marcus said.

* * *

 **Floor 18: Lakeside**

 **07/01/2026**

* * *

Since the frontlines cleared floor seventeen's boss, Ion and Angel pooled together their resources, purchasing a property on floor eighteen, not far from the cave where they became an item.

It was a two floor, thatched cottage with wooden walls and stone foundations, the front porch led out to a path that led up to town, and a second path led down to a small wooden pier, where Ion sometimes went fishing.

Inside the cottage, downstairs, there was a kitchen that opened out into a lounge, with a fireplace in the corner of the room. A spiral stairway led up to three bedrooms, one main room for Ion and Angel, another for Aurora, and two beds in the third, for Melody, Kione or Silica, if they decided to log out here.

"Aurora?" Ion called, as he sat up from his and Angel's bed.

The white-haired child walked into the room, "Hi Ion, how was your day yesterday?" She asked.

"It was fun, and I told Sarah about my parents," Ion said, ruffling her hair. "I'll tell you another day, but we'll be heading to Floor 24 at 3 to take a look at Zekken for ourselves."

"Oh, I've been," Aurora said, as Angel appeared behind Ion, "Angel and Melody took me," She explained.

"Huh, so I'm the only one who's never seen this player in action?" Ion asked.

"No, Asuna's been out of the loop too, she was in Kyoto for New Years," Angel said.

"Ok then, shall we head up and wait?" Ion asked.

"Sounds good to me, we're just waiting ten minutes, right? Why not just enjoy ourselves?" Angel smiled.

* * *

Kione landed on the grass, not far from the bridge that connected the island with the big tree to the mainland. She spotted Kirito and Asuna enjoying a moment together, so she decided not to interfere with that.

"Yo! Kione!" She turned, spotting Leafa and Silica arriving.

"Hey girls, you here to watch Zekken too?" Kione asked.

"Yep, Asuna decided she would try out too," Silica nodded. "She thinks Zekken's got another reason for making that challenge for opponents."

"To be honest, I'm starting to get the same feeling," Kione agreed. "Shall we?" She asked, looking to the bridge.

"We'll catch up, we're going to get the lovebirds over there," Leafa chuckled, as Liz landed next to her.

"Ok, see you in a bit," Kione said, walking towards the island.

Ion and Angel walked towards the bridge, there, they saw Kirito and Asuna walking from the other direction, and Kione halfway across the bridge. Ion noticed that the latter seemed rather unfocused or distracted.

He gestured her to slow, "A hundred Yld for your thoughts?" He inquired.

"It's nothing, IRL stuff," Asuna said.

"Don't lie to me," Ion sighed, "Whatever's going on, let me know if I can help, ok?" He told her.

Asuna glanced around, and sighed, as they began to cross the bridge, "It's my mother. She still thinks that I should be courting some influential guy with a lot of money."

"What? After Sugou…?!" Ion hissed. "No offence Asuna, your father is fine, but it's your mother… she isn't the smartest person," He groaned.

"I know, I've told her so many times that I love Kirito, but all she sees him as is a common peasant that has no money," Asuna told him.

"If you want, I can see about arranging another meeting with her, I swear… she's so dense," Ion muttered.

"She thinks you are in the same boat as Kazuto, as well as all our friend group," Asuna sighed, "I did what you asked, and hid that recorder you gave me in my shirt pocket during dinner." She said.

"I'll come over and take a listen sometime," Ion told her. "Now let's go see what this Zekken's about."

The two Undine players sprinted the rest of the way, spotting their friends on one corner of the crowd. The sounds of steel against steel came from above, before a Salamander Lancer fell from the sky.

"I yield! I quit! Resign!" The guy called out, before the message was made apparent by the system.

"Yeah! That's 67 wins in a row!" A player cheered.

"Zekken's unbeatable!" Another called.

A girl, with dark purple hair and red eyes, descended from the sky, carrying out a flip before landing effortlessly. She wore obsidian chest armor, a bluebottle violet tunic and a windswept skirt of the same color beneath the armor. A black sheath, carrying a thin sword, was at her waist.

Asuna seemed to tap Liz on the shoulder, "Hey Liz?"

"Yeah?" Asked the blacksmith.

Asuna grabbed her, forcing her to look the Undine in the eye. "You never told me Zekken's a girl!" She demanded.

"I didn't?" Liz asked. "Coulda sworn I did."

"You didn't!" Asuna confirmed. Then, she whirled around to look at Kirito. "And you," She went on, causing the Black Swordsman to flinch. "I have a feeling I now know why you lost." Ion almost cowered in fear at the terrifying stare she gave him.

Kirito shook his head in denial. "No! I didn't go easy on her 'cause she's a girl! I swear!" He said. "At least halfway through our duel anyway…"

Ion sighed, the Spriggan definitely knew how to dig his holes. "So… is there any more challenges today?" The girl asked.

Ion stepped up, "You have three more. Myself, the Undine girl to my right, and the Ninja Spriggan over there." He said clearly, pointing to Asuna and Kione respectively.

"Then we'll duel in reverse order, Ninja girl, you first!" The Imp smiled.

Kione walked out of the crowd, "What are the rules?" She asked, pulling up her cowl.

"Anything goes. Magic, Sword skills, you name it. I'll just rely on this though," the other girl said, putting a hand on her sword.

"Then I'll do the same," Kione said.

"One question! Would you prefer to duel on the ground, or in the air?" Zekken asked.

"The ground, air combat's where I suck unfortunately," Kione admitted.

Zekken opened her menu, and sent a duel request to Kione, "Yuuki…" She read out the name of her opponent. Then she accepted the request.

Yuuki drew her sword, and Kione took a steady stance, gripping Buriando in its sheath. Both tuned out everything else, listening to the countdown timer above them.

3… 2… 1…0!

* * *

 **Ion: Why is everyone glaring at me?**

 **Melody: Because you dropped them on a cliffhanger?**

 **Kione: Seriously? That's Mataras' thing!**

 **Ion: Ok! I'll try not to make a habit out of it!**

 **Yuuki: When's the next chapter out? I got some fights to do!**

 **Ion: When I feel like it kid. Like I said, I got Destiny 2, so I'll be grinding on that for the raid coming up this wednesday, wish me and my team luck!**

 **All: Next time: The Sleeping Knights!**


	23. Chapter 23: The Sleeping Knights

**I feel like I should apologise for my lack of updates lately, Searching for a job has taken a lot of my energy away as of recently, and I kind of just disregarded my writing for a bit, but I think it's time I FINALLY got a mega update out for you, so brace yourselves for two chapters!**

 **I only own my OCs! Everything else here is owned by Reki Kawahara!**

* * *

 **Chapter 23: The Sleeping Knights**

 **Title song: Destiny 2 OST - What We Fight For**

* * *

Kione was first to move, slashing at Yuuki twice with her katana with lightning fast efficiency. Yuuki knocked them back with two calm movements, before she pressed the attack, slashing at Kione with three razor fast diagonal cuts.

The young ninja dodged by flipping back out of the way. But she was surprised when she felt two stings on her stomach, glancing down, she saw an 'x' shaped red mark.

 _She's good,_ she thought. _But win or lose, I just want to see what she's after._ Then she was charging back in, her sword blackening as she engaged the two-hit skill Vertical Arc. Yuuki blocked it, then countered with the one-handed skill Slant, a diagonal slash coated in violet light, which Kione blocked herself.

"Whoa… I've never seen Kione so fired up before," Silica muttered.

"I have. Once," Angel smirked. "A long time ago, before SAO, we were playing Chess, she didn't give up until she claimed checkmate. I'm really happy to see that her old competitive fire still burns."

Kione gave a yell, countering Yuuki as the Imp used the four-hit Horizontal Square, blocking all four slashes and then meeting her eyes with her own, activating the three-hit katana skill Hiougi, a downwards slash with both hands, then a horizontal swing, followed by an aggressive dash with a second slash from above.

Yuuki was unable to block them all, and Kione gave a grin as she watched the Imp lose some HP. Yuuki quickly counted with the three-hit Sharp Nail, three large slashes that cut a decent chunk out of Kione's own health.

Kione growled, but then remembered her trump card. _I only made it last month. Time to see if it's enough!_ She looked at Yuuki, who looked like she was readying up for the next engagement.

Taking a deep breath, the ninja girl closed her eyes, and sheathed her blade, which suddenly started glowing yellow. Yuuki covered her eyes, as the light shone like a sun. "It's time!" Kione muttered. "Shiryoku No Nai Kaminari!" She drew her katana with crisp precision, an unwavering, huge horizontal slash in front of her, followed by two powerful, speedy slashes in an X shape, then finishing the four-hit sword skill with a spinning slash, which then returned her Katana to it's sheath. Only then did Yuuki feel the damage done by her skill, her HP dropping to yellow.

"When did she have time to make that?" Kirito asked.

"I don't know, my guess is she went out to one of her secluded meditation sites, where she came up with such an OSS," Angel shook her head.

"Sightless Thunder… Kione found a way to send her message to her opponent, look," Ion pointed, Kione was only just opening her eyes again. "She does that with her eyes shut."

Yuuki seemed to pause, genuinely shocked at the skill employed against her. "Wow! You're really strong!" She smiled. Then it turned into a smirk. "But I still have two more challenges to take on."

Suddenly, she was in motion, her sword glowing violet as she thrust five times into Kione's form, which was still in the post-motion effect. Then she slashed down, jumped up, taking her sword out, then landing a big finishing downwards cleave that cut Kione's HP down to zero.

Kione burned away into a remain light, and Yuuki took a deep breath, "Phew… You were a good opponent," She said to the black and purple flame. Ion walked up, and chanted out a revival spell to bring Kione back.

"Thanks Ion, and you, Yuuki. That was a brilliant fight, one of the best I've ever had," Kione said.

"My friend Asuna allowed me to take her place, so I will face you next," Ion then informed Yuuki.

"That's ok, but she'd better bring her A-game!" Yuuki smirked.

Kione returned to Angel's side, "Man… and I worked my butt off to get that OSS right…" She sighed.

"Don't sweat it sis, you knocked her into the low yellow, that's better than any other player so far, you even did better than Kirito," Angel told her.

"Nice OSS too, precise and to the point. No fancy acrobatics or flailing your sword around, just four crisp movements, I wouldn't be surprised if Leafa and Klein want to learn that skill from you," Kirito added.

"Miss Zekken, before we begin, I wish to ask you a question," Ion said, as Yuuki restored her HP with a potion. "What is it you are looking for?"

"… A teammate…" Was all she said, and sent the request to him. She picked her sword up, as Ion drew Lævateinn, causing the crowd to gasp as he pulled out the legendary weapon.

Ion observed her stance, her posture, and her sword. All were flawless, she showed no weaknesses whatsoever. _But even the invincible warriors have an Achilles heel._

When the buzzer started their match, Yuuki sprang forward first, hoping to pick up first pixels. Ion raised his blade to catch her sword, but it proved to be a feint, as she moved around his thin sword, but the way she had changed trajectory caused Ion to take little damage.

Ion quickly recovered from her startling reaction times, sword lighting up blue as he activated Quadruple Pain, his weapon becoming a blur of motion as he thrust four times at her chest. Being so close, she was unable to bring her sword back to defend, and his skill bit away a mediocre chunk of her HP.

Yuuki leapt over him, then activated the skill Slant again, causing dust to kick up into the air as she scraped it across the ground before bringing it up to attack. However, when the dust settled, everyone saw that Yuuki was struggling to press her offence, and Ion had the female Imp's blade impacted against his weapon's hilt.

"What?" She asked, genuinely shocked.

"One thing I realised that as an AGI type player, was that my defence wasn't all that great, so for the past few months, Leafa and I have been working on new, unorthodox techniques," Ion explained, closing his eyes as he recalled the day he had created this tactic.

* * *

 **Flashback**

* * *

Marcus and Suguha were training together in the Kirigaya dojo, practicing their swings and their counters. When they had a duel against each other, Suguha had gotten the upper hand, managing to knock Marcus' shinai aside, then aimed for a follow up point.

Marcus attempted to return his bamboo blade to defend, but, by accident, he ended up stopping the black-haired girl's attack with the hilt of his weapon. "Huh?" Sugu had asked.

"That's what I've been looking for," Marcus muttered, before he took advantage of Suguha's distraction, to land a hit on her shoulder.

"Marcus, what was that you did?" Suguha had asked.

"I dunno, it was just… reflex I guess, but now that I think about it, I've been looking for a defense style that will catch the opponent off guard, permitting me to strike. I think I'll call it…

* * *

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"Irregular Guarding," Leafa said, standing next to all their friends.

"Irregular… guarding…?" Kirito asked.

Ion smirked, "You're wide open!" He yelled, before slipping under Yuuki's sword, punching her in the gut and knocking her away. The girl looked at him with an eager look in her eyes.

"You're an interesting one, Absolute Sword," Ion said, as she charged him again, this time, he grasped the blade of his weapon, moving four times to block the incoming salvo of blows she threw at him.

The two duelists kept going, not holding back an inch of their energy. Ion blocked two speedy jabs from Yuuki's sword, then defended a third with the hilt of his own weapon.

It wasn't one sided either, Yuuki improvising widely to break past Ion's impressive new technique, ducking under his guard to then engage the skill Horizontal Square, slashing around him four times, and he was unable to block any of them.

"Ion! The time!" Silica warned, just before the buzzer went off, signifying that the fight was over.

"We really fought for the full time?" Yuuki asked in surprise.

"It sure looks that way to me, that was an amazing fight Yuuki," Ion said, holding out a hand.

"Give me a holler if you ever want a rematch, but now, it's your friend's turn," Yuuki said accepting the handshake. Ion chanted a spell, restoring his HP, then he did the same spell, restoring her's.

* * *

Asuna fought amazingly as well, and after Yuuki scored the first hit, a small cut to her breast area, it was no more nice Asuna, and for a brief second, Ion saw the Vice-Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, 'Lightning Flash' Asuna fighting this amazing warrior with all her strength, not the Berserk Healer.

However, she still found herself outmatched by the Absolute Sword. After Yuuki somehow read Asuna's Quadruple Pain, Ion started counting the hits of the sword skill Yuuki employed to counter.

Five lightning fast jabs, one for each corner, then the center of her chest. Then another five, in the exact same pattern, just in the opposite direction. That was ten hits, was this…?!

It was, Yuuki was using her Original Sword Skill, as the eleventh, final strike hammered home against Asuna's torso. Everyone covered up from the blast that formed by her skill, and when the dust cleared, they were shocked to see that Yuuki had not delivered the final blow, choosing to cancel her sword skill just before it hit.

"I've decided. Asuna, could you come with me?" Yuuki asked, her wings appearing on her back, she took the female Undine's hand, and began to lift her off the ground, causing Asuna to summon her own wings and follow.

"Asuna?!" Liz called, confused to why the two fairies had just left.

"She said she had decided. And it was after she used her OSS on Asuna. I think she's found what she's looking for, whatever it is," Kione observed.

"A teammate. That's what she was looking for," Ion said. "I'm going to go off and relax for a bit, I need time to think."

"I'll go with you," Kione offered.

"You got stuff to think about too?" He asked, as she followed him into the air.

"Nah, I was going to see where Asuna had gone," Kione admitted. "What about you?"

"The same, I want to see what Yuuki's ambition is," Ion nodded. He opened his window, and went to his friends list, then tapped Asuna and went to location scan.

"She's on floor 11, in Taft," He said. "Looks like they've gotten to an inn."

"Let's go," Kione said. The two flew out of the 24th floor, and descended to floor eleven, there, the odd team of two flew towards Taft in silence.

* * *

"There you are," Ion called, spotting Asuna and Yuuki walking out of an inn, accompanied by five other players, one Sylph, one Salamander, one Undine, one Gnome, and one Spriggan.

"What? You guys followed me?" Asuna asked.

"We were curious, that's all, now… what's going on?" Kione replied with her own question.

Yuuki sighed, "We'll explain on the way to floor twenty-seven's boss room."

"A boss room!?" Ion demanded.

"Why there? We haven't cleared that floor yet," Kione added.

"I see… so this could be your last big adventure before you have to disband?" Ion asked, as they progressed through Floor twenty-seven's dungeon.

"Yep, and we want to beat this boss, just us, The Sleeping Knights!" Yuuki nodded.

"See, you know that when the big raid parties clear the boss rooms, only the leaders of the parties and guilds are displayed on the Monument of Swordsmen in the Black Iron Palace," Jun, the Salamander, armed with a greatsword, explained.

"But if a single party of seven or less clear the boss, then all the members of that party have their names displayed instead," Nori, the Spriggan, said, a warhammer slung loosely over her shoulder.

"So _that's_ why you were openly challenging anyone who'd dare pick up a sword against you," Ion muttered.

"It's a big goal, but I think you could pull it off," Kione added helpfully.

"There it is," Tecchi, the tanky gnome called out. He was armed with a heavy mace and a tower shield.

Ion was getting huge flashbacks to Floor Seventy-four, when he, Asuna, Kirito and the rest of their little group walked down a corridor like this one. He glanced at Asuna, who nodded back, also feeling the familiar vibe. His detection skill then pinged, and he stopped, eyes narrowing.

"Asuna." Ion said.

"I know," Asuna then chanted a spell, sending out a small school of blue tracer fish, one of which impacted against mid-air, before dispelling an invisibility cloak, revealing three players huddled together.

"What are you doing hiding there?" Asuna asked.

"We weren't planning on ambushing you miss, we're scouts for a party that's on their way here now," one of the players said.

"You seven get in there," Ion said to the Sleeping Knights. "We won't let anyone past us."

Kione glanced up at him, "Are you crazy?" She asked.

"I'm with the ninja kid, _are_ you crazy?" Nori asked.

"Maybe, but mainly because it was Asuna that you chose to help you, but you showed interest in us as well, Yuuki. We won't let anyone pass," Ion said. He drew Lævateinn, and pointed it at the scouting trio.

"Sod off, and tell your friends that if they want to get through these doors, they'll have to kill us first," He told them, no room for argument in his tone.

"Thanks guys, we won't forget this!" Asuna told the two, before they ran through the door.

Kione glanced up at Ion, as the two turned to stand sentry before the two closing doors, "Are you mad?! The two of us, against possibly a full raid party?!"

"No. We will hold the line, or die trying," Ion said. "But… a little insurance policy wouldn't hurt," He added, before sending a message to Kirito and Angel. 'Gather as many of our friends as you can, me and Kione are guarding the Floor 27 boss door for Yuuki, Asuna and a small guild of friends. Received intel of full raid party heading this way, going to need support ASAP.'

"A bit dramatic, but all truth." He answered Kione's question before she even spoke.

It wasn't long before Ion spotted unknown players headed their way. "Kione."

"Yup, I see them, I count twenty-three, possibly an advance force," The ninja nodded.

"Oi, oi! What are you? The twin sentries? Move aside so we can reserve this boss room for our raid party," The lead player, a bulky gnome, said.

"Sorry, we were here first, we have a team of players headed this way as we speak," Ion said.

"So, you'll have to wait for them to arrive," Kione added.

"Or we can just kill you now and clear the way," The gnome said.

"I assure you, that would be a bad idea," Ion said, drawing Lævateinn, and pointing the tip at the leader.

Kione also took a ready stance, eying the three Salamander Mages at the back of the group. She then got a message from Asuna, and she quickly read it, learning that they had been wiped out.

Ion got it too, and quickly dismissed the window. "Come closer, and we will defeat you all," He announced.

* * *

 **Ion: Was I the only one hearing the chanting part of Swordland at the end there?**

 **Kione: No, I got that vibe too.**

 **Melody: Where'd you guys go?**

 **Angel: And why didn't you tell us?**

 **Ion: Look at your message and find out.**

 **Kione: Or you can just turn to the next page, which should be up by now.**

 **Ion: It is! Go and read on!**

 **All: Next time: Heartbreaking Reality!**


	24. Chapter 24: Heartbreaking Reality

**So... I kinda went a little overboard on the word count this chapter... oops... oh well, because of my lack of updates, I say you all deserve it!**

 **You'll find that Marcus gets very emotional in this chapter, because of reasons you'll find out next chapter.**

 **Either way, here y'all are, chapter 24!**

 **The characters of Blazing Revolution belong to TheSib, I only own my OCs!**

* * *

 **Chapter 24: Heartbreaking Reality**

 **Title Song: You Are Not Alone (Yuuki's Theme)**

* * *

"Mr gnome, how many floors of this castle have you and your raid party cleared now?" Ion asked, causing the opposing advance team to pause.

"Huh? What does that have to do with this?" Asked the gnome, pulling out a massive greatsword.

"Because depending on your answer, you will find yourselves completely outmatched, or you will stomp all over us," Ion told him.

The gnome shrugged, "We've cleared a few, twenty-four to twenty-six," he told them.

"Then I will give you my count," Ion sighed.

"Ion, are you sure?" Kione asked, sure she knew what he was about to reveal.

"I have taken part in boss raids, from floor Thirty-Nine all the way to floor Seventy-Five!" Ion announced.

This caused several of the enemy to glance between themselves, and the gnome narrowed his eyes. "But those floors haven't been released yet! How have you-!" He paused, and reeled back in shock.

A salamander grunt pointed at Ion with a shaky finger. "A…are… you saying… you were there?"

"I am an SAO Survivor! And with that claim, I will also say that that party I said was coming? Ninety percent of it are also SAO survivors!" Ion told them. He then narrowed his eyes, "So, I will now give you to the count of three to do exactly as I say."

"And what's that?" Asked the gnome.

"I order you to get out of my sight, or kneel," Ion told them.

The gnome turned to his allies, "Look guys, he's just stalling! So what if he's been in SAO? I bet that they got their lame, useless asses handed to them by whatever they fought in these rooms."

He suddenly felt a chill, and turned back to see Ion's blue hair covering his eyes, before he looked back at the gnome with a stoic face.

"Say that again. I dare you." He said.

"H…huh?" The gnome asked.

"Why's it gotten chilly?" A player asked.

"I'm an Undine, and I'm feeling the cold too," another noted.

"Uhh… Brick, I think you should take it back!" A third called.

"Why? He's nothing! I bet his SAO buddies are just as useless as he is, come on! We can take- URK!"

The gnome was suddenly missing both his arms and a leg, and dropped like a sack of bricks. He looked up to see Ion staring down at him.

"Here's a history lesson for your tiny pea-sized brain. Four-thousand people of different ages lost their lives to the threats of SAO! And not only are you insulting me and the six-thousand odd survivors, you are insulting all of our lost brothers- and sisters-in-arms!" Ion told him, crouching down to look into his eyes. "If you aren't going to respect the men and women who died in this castle, then you are not worthy to even be here!" Ion raised his blade. "Any last words before I send you home?"

"Get him morons!" The gnome called to the rest of his unit. His head was abruptly removed from his shoulders.

The massive force drew their weapons, "We respect those who died man, but we're on a boss clearing streak at the moment, so we gotta move you out of the way!" A salamander said.

Ion stood up, looking directly at the "Then come."

Salamanders, Gnomes and a couple of Leprechauns sprinted ahead of the group, armed with the heavier swords, axes and hammers. Ion ducked under a massive swing and severed the hand holding a greatsword.

Battle had been joined. Ion dodged and weaved around all his enemies strikes, and retaliated by landing precise blows to vital areas. However, when he kicked one player out of the way, he noticed them get covered in a green glow, signifying a healing spell being used on them.

"Kione! Take out their support row!" He called to his own supporter.

"Right!" The little ninja chanted a quick four-word spell, and suddenly vanished in a small puff of smoke.

"Where'd she go?" Asked a player.

"Idiot! She used an invisibility spell, protect the mages!" Another player called out.

A sudden katana burst through the chest of a mage, and Kione emerged in another puff of smoke. "Get her!" A player called, as the mage burned away into a remain light. Kione leapt over a sword swing, removing the hand, and then the player's HP completely with a really precise slice.

She bent back, narrowly avoiding a horizontal mace swing, and she then vaulted over the player's shoulders, removing the second mage behind him with a swift slice through the neck. She then turned back, blocking the mace user, followed by a fast diagonal slash through his shoulder to his waist.

The third mage chanted up a fireball spell, aiming for Ion, who was clashing with a pair of sylphs with rapiers. He parried one, then used the momentum to bash away the other thin weapon, then, he began chanting a spell of his own, turning and releasing a beam of light that impacted with the fire, blasting it out of the way and vaporizing the mage.

Ion then activated the single hit skill Shooting Star, removing one of the sylphs from play, and quickly whirling around to catch the other with the sword skill Quadruple Pain, landing four powerful jabs that pierced through his chest.

He glanced back to see that he had incapacitated or defeated around seven players already, including the mouthy Gnome at the start, and Kione had taken out five more. He quickly ducked under a Salamander's hammer, then elbowed him in the gut, followed with a vicious spike that slammed him into the ground.

"Ion!" The Undine turned at the call, seeing that the Sleeping Knights were back.

"About time you showed up!" Ion called back, blocking a sword, then knocking the owner aside with a shoulder charge. "What kept ya!?"

"Asuna had something that came up IRL, we waited for her," Jun said.

Asuna met eyes with her fellow Undine, and mouthed 'later' to him, he nodded.

"Uh oh, guys? We seem to have more company," Siune gulped, glancing back to see a massive army charging down the corridor.

Suddenly, several figures dashed past, running up onto the wall to shoot ahead and slide to a halt. "Sorry." The lead figure said, slamming a black sword into the ground.

Kirito pointed at the large group. "This place is off limits," He told them, Yui sat on his shoulder.

Ion glanced over, seeing that also to make it were Angel, Ren, Alice and Melody. "Man, next time, don't leave without telling us where you're going bro," Melody called.

"Same with you little sister, how about a message or a hint at least," Angel told Kione.

"Alright, Sleeping Knights, we softened up this lot, how about you take over while we hold off the main army," Ion said to Yuuki's guild.

"Sounds good, good luck to you guys," Yuuki said, Ion ran past, giving her a high-five as he went, Kione passed a moment later, doing the same to Asuna.

"Tell me you have more coming," Ion asked Kirito.

"It's a surprise," Ren smirked.

"Oh… I like the idea already," Ion chuckled.

"Ok… Blacky-sensei, do you honestly think that you'll hold us all off?" Asked the leader of the main force, a Salamander.

"Honestly, never tried. First time for everything though," Kirito shrugged.

"Indeed there is," The Salamander raised a hand. "Mages. Torch them," He clicked his fingers. Three mages started chanting spells behind the group.

"I got this Ion, stand back," Kirito said to the others.

"Huh…?" Ion asked, but did as told.

The three mages launched their spells, a salvo of energy arrows, some zippy purple balls and a large spear. Kirito took Elucidator out of the ground, spinning around a couple of times, before the sword settled over his shoulders.

The spear reached him first, but he took his sword and slashed right through it, next came the salvo of arrows, which he cut through with no problem, lastly, with a backflip, he cut through the purple balls of magic, causing a purple cloud to kick up.

Ion, Ren and the others, on both sides of the battle, watched with wide eyes.

"No way," Yuuki was first to speak.

"He cut through the magic?" Talken balked.

"It wasn't just chance?" Tecchi asked. "He can cut through something that fast? So that's why…"

"What the hell?" Asked the Salamander.

Kirito chuckled, "Even the fastest magic is slower than an anti-materiel rifle's bullet," He told them.

Ion's eyes widened, "You got that from GGO… you sly dog!" He laughed.

"Gotta admit I've never seen something quite like that before," Ren nodded.

This made the Salamander realize that Kirito wasn't a normal player. "G-Get in formation!" He yelled to his army, who did so. Shields up front, magic readying up in the back.

"We'll buy you as long as we can!" Kirito called to their allies. "Get into that boss room!"

"Right," Asuna nodded.

It was then that Kirito went into his inventory, and accessed a quick change to his gear. On his back materialized a golden sword in a scabbard, which Kirito drew, pointing it towards the enemy force.

"Excalibur eh? Not often that you need to bring out the big guns," Ion smirked. "I'll support you guys, don't worry, I got your back."

Ren then drew the Legendary Sword, Ragnarok, settling into his stance, and Angel drew the huge spear, Gungnir. Ragnarok was a black sword with a red gemstone in the hilt, and a red outline around the blade. Ren had gotten it with his guild not too long after Ion got his own weapon.

Gungnir on the other hand was a golden spear, with a silver end and firm handgrips, blue lines went up the shaft, all the way to the other end, where there was a small spike. Argo had approached Angel the moment she had discovered the spear, and pointed Angel, Ion, Kione, Klein, Asuna and Liz to the dungeon.

Ion pulled out his Twisting Fates staff, standing at ease. "Now?" he heard Kirito ask Ren.

"Now," Ren nodded.

Angel twirled her spear five times, tossing it into the air and catching it with little difficulty. Suddenly, players in the middle of the enemy force yelled out as some of their allies lashed out.

"What the?! Traitors!" The Salamander growled.

"Wrong." Suddenly a massive axe swung down, cleaving him in two. In his place appeared Agil, holding his axe, called Sweet Business. "We snuck into your force before you took off."

Out of the crowd burst Silica, Sinon, Liz, Mai, Dagger, Helios, Riku, Himiko, and at the back, was Furinkazan and Team Galactic.

Before they got going, Ion overheard something that Yuuki said behind them. "Sometimes you've got to fight, to get your point across." It was then, that he knew how to handle the situation with Mrs Yuuki.

"Alright guys, let's get to work!" Kirito called. Ion kicking things off by lobbing a fireball into the middle of the army.

* * *

The following slaughter didn't last long, but the opposing army did claim kills, Klein, two of his teammates, Saturn, Agil, Mai and Silica all being unfortunate to have caught the short end of the stick.

Ion chanted a spell, before Mai reappeared in a soft green glow. "Thanks Ion, what hit me?" She asked.

"A throwing pick from a Pooka kid, got you in the head before I could warn you," Riku said.

"How do you think Asuna and Yuuki did?" Melody asked.

"If Asuna learnt from her last crack with whatever was behind those doors, I think they did alright, shall we check?" Kirito asked.

Ion pushed open the doors, and they all looked in to see the Sleeping Knights and Asuna collapsed in the middle of the room. They looked up at the intruders, but gasped at the sight of their friends, giving a V sign and cheeky grins for victory.

"Hey! You did it!" Ion laughed.

"So did you!" Yuuki cheered.

"I don't know why I even worried," Asuna sighed. "Of course you would have no problems in PvP against such a large opposing force."

"You doubted us? I'm wounded Asuna!" Angel giggled. "But in all seriousness, how'd it go?"

The Sleeping Knights and Asuna recounted their individual roles in the boss fight against a two headed, four armed giant wielding two hammers and chains.

"Sounded tough, but you beat it anyway, nice work guys," Ren gave them a thumbs up.

"We're going to go have a party at my house to celebrate," Asuna told the gathered group of friends.

"Then don't let us stop you, you earned the right to celebrate this one," Ion told them. "We'll get the teleport gate for you, then see you at the Monument of Swordsmen."

With that, the seven victorious players departed by teleport crystal, and Ion nodded to the group, heading up to floor twenty-eight. As they did, Ion glanced at Kirito and Ren, "You figured it out too, didn't you, why she's so fast and strong?" He asked.

"She's full time, more than just a hardcore gamer," Kirito said.

* * *

 **Floor One: Town of Beginnings**

* * *

The large group of players walked through the beginning town to Sword Art Online, heading towards the Black Iron Palace and the landmark that rested inside the main chamber.

"Looks like we beat the others here," Melody observed.

Ion and Angel nodded, walking up to the Monument of Swordsmen. There, below Floor 27, were the names of their new friends, as well as their very own Asuna.

Ion put a hand on the wall, and closed his eyes. Those around him knew what he was doing, and closed their eyes as well, joining in two minutes of silence.

"What are you guys doing?" The voice of Nori asked.

"Everytime we come here, we pay our respects to the SAO Players who didn't get to leave Aincrad the first time," Asuna explained, walking up and paying her own respects.

Yuuki glanced around at her guildmates, and together, they approached the wall, putting their hands on it. Even though they didn't know the hardships that their friends had to go through, they all had a pretty close understanding. After all. It was why the guild was formed.

Ion eventually pulled back from the wall, as did all the others, "We'll never forget your sacrifice. Amen."

He whirled around, "Right, sorry that you walked in on that silent moment, but look! There you are! Your names have been carved into this stone, and they will stay there for all of eternity!" He pointed up.

Yuuki and the Sleeping Knights cheered, knowing their goal was complete. "Oh! I know! You guys should take a group picture!" Silica then spoke up.

"We already had that planned!" Jun nodded, as did the rest of them. Yuuki summoned the crystal, and her guild and Asuna gathered together, Yuuki then ran back, to slot between Asuna and Jun. The crystal beeped a couple of times, before flashing, taking the picture.

"There it is," Asuna smiled, turning back to face their names. "You did it!"

"Yeah. I finally did, huh sis." Ion's and Melody's eyes widened slightly, hearing that come from Yuuki.

"There you go again Yuuki," Asuna chuckled.

"What?" Yuuki asked.

"You called me 'sis' just now, that's what. And in the boss room too," Asuna stated.

Yuuki looked like she was about to log out, but two hands stopped her solid. One was holding the hand she was using to manipulate her menus. The other was gripping her other hand. She glanced back to see something that made her gasp.

Ion and Melody's eyes were both leaking tears. And Yuuki knew there and then, that those tears were those of pain and sorrow. "You lost your sister. Didn't you?" Ion asked.

Yuuki's eyes widened, and she nodded, "O-One year ago… and… who did you lose?"

Melody answered, "Our parents. Ten years ago."

Ion then lowered his head, he now had figured out why the Sleeping Knights were so determined to leave their names in this world. "And you're not leaving the virtual world… because you want to. Are you?"

Her eyes widened again, and she nodded quietly. Ion sighed, and enveloped her in a warm hug. "Then… I'm so sorry…" He whispered.

"Ion… what's going on?" Asked Kirito.

"Melody?" Kione asked.

"I cannot say. It's Yuuki's choice if she wishes to explain," Ion shook his head, releasing her.

Yuuki turned to the full crew, "If you wish to know the truth about me…. And my sister… find the Midiki Board." With that, she vanished in a blue glow, as did the other members of the Sleeping Knights.

"You heard her… and I'm afraid…" Ion sighed, glancing up at her name on the wall behind them.

"But what in the world is a Midiki Board?" asked Himiko.

"I think I heard that once befo-" Angel's eyes widened as she looked at her boyfriend. She then glanced at Kirito and Ren, who also couldn't believe it. "Is she…!"

"Kirito said it himself, she's full time," Ion nodded, confirming their suspicions.

"Oh man…" Ren sighed, looking down.

"The only missing piece is why she would need such resources," Angel had a hand to her chin. "I'm going to log off, I have a bad feeling…" She said, before doing just that.

Asuna sighed, clenching her fist. "Asuna, you have a moment?" Ion asked, as the others began logging out, either from exhaustion, or from curiosity from the strange term mentioned.

"It's time we handled your mother," Ion said.

"I know, and I think I know how I'm going to deal with her," Asuna nodded.

"I do as well, I think we both have the same idea," Ion smiled.

"Sometimes you have to fight to get your point across," They both said.

"I'll be over shortly, I'll bring my Amusphere," Ion nodded, but before he could log out, Asuna caught his hand.

"I know she insulted you guys, and I promise I'll bring it up, but... please, leave this to me, it is a family matter after all," Asuna sighed.

Ion eventually nodded. "Fair enough, I'll support whatever you say."

* * *

The next morning, Marcus got a text from Kazuto, saying he would tell Asuna about Yuuki at school, and that they should head over together to meet her after school.

The day went as normal as ever, lessons went at a steady pace, and before they knew it, they were heading to Yokohama General Hospital on Kazuto's blue bike and Marcus' white one. Deciding to join them, because she had an interest in the medical world was Sarah. The two couples parked their bikes in the parking lot, and headed inside.

They walked up to the front desk, where a woman was sat, looking partially bored, if the open window of Pac-Man was anything to say. The woman sighed, as the sound of defeat came from her screen, and she looked up. "Hello, how can I help you?" She asked.

"We've come to see a friend of ours, we met her in a game called ALfheim Online and believe that she's the user of the Medicuboid here," Sarah said, they had agreed she be the one to lead here, having the most interest in medicine.

A woman sat at the desk next to their choice glanced over. "Pardon me miss, but what are your names?" She asked.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Sarah Radcliffe, these are my friends Kazuto, Marcus and Asuna," Sarah said, pointing to her friends in that order.

"Please, have a seat, I'll get someone right away," the woman said, standing and rushing off.

Marcus, Kazuto and Asuna glanced at each other, deciding that they should do as said.

A doctor soon approached them, and they stood as he stopped before them, "Excuse me for making you wait, which one here was Asuna?" he asked.

"That's me," Asuna spoke up.

"Great, I'm Doctor Kurahashi, I'm Yuuki Konno's primary physician," the doctor said.

Asuna introduced the others, as they headed towards a staff room.

"You know, I'm quite surprised you found us so quickly, but then again, Sarah here has paid multiple visits in the past, hoping to learn more about medicine," Kurahashi smiled. "Yuuki warned us that someone named Asuna might pay a visit soon, but I didn't expect you to turn up a day after she left ALO."

"She warned you? What do you mean?" Marcus asked.

"Doctor, did Yuuki mention anything else about me?" Asuna asked.

"I'll say, you're all she talks about," Kurahashi chuckled, he then frowned. "However, whenever she brings you up, all of you, she always burst into tears."

"Yuuki's always been a brave girl, and never once felt sorry for herself. She wants to see you all," He sighed. "But she can't bring herself to do it."

"Yes. We know," Asuna sighed. "I still can't wrap my head around it. A friend of hers sent me a message, saying it was for my own good. Why is that? Why can't we see each other?"

Kurahashi paused. Then he glanced at Sarah, who nodded. "For starters, I should tell you what the Medicuboid is all about, or maybe Sarah can summarize it."

"It's a massive nervegear. You know how when we dive, we don't feel when someone pinches our skin IRL? Well, the Medicuboid blocks out _everything_ outside. Pain, suffering, the user doesn't feel it at all," Sarah told them. "It's connected to the bed, and that connects with the nervous system at the neck, spine, you name it."

This made Kazuto and Marcus raise their eyebrows, "That's amazingly useful for hospitals…" Marcus muttered.

"Right, the patient could dive into a game, and be unaffected by the pain caused in surgery," Sarah nodded.

"That's not why it's in use though," Kurahashi sighed, taking off his glasses. "It's use is more a nullifier for those… in terminal care…"

Marcus sighed, standing up and looking out the window, "I knew it…" He said. "I knew that was why she was full time."

"Terminal…?" Asuna asked, unfamiliar with the word.

"Asuna… it means that the Medicuboid is the final bed for those already well on their way to the next life," Sarah sighed, a tear trickling down her face.

"She's dying…?" Asuna gasped.

"Doctor? What… what is Yuuki suffering from that has put her in that machine?" Kazuto asked.

"Yuuki told me that if you really wanted, I could tell you the whole story of what she's going through. But I must warn you, it's not a pleasant tale," Kurahashi sighed, cleaning his glasses before putting them back on.

"Doctor. We came here to find out about Yuuki, and that's what we will do," Marcus said, still glancing out the window.

"Then follow me, and prepare yourselves," Kurahashi muttered.

The doctor led them down a corridor, "Yuuki and her sister, Aiko were born in May of 2011, but there were complications and their mother had to undertake a C-section. The mother was given a transfusion during the operation, but unfortunately, the blood obtained from the donor was contaminated with HIV."

Sarah's eyes widened. "No… no, no, no." She stopped, almost losing her balance. "She's got 'it', hasn't she?" She asked the doctor.

"She does."

Sarah grit her teeth, and they both turned to the others, "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome."

Marcus whirled around and slammed his fist into the wall, "DAMNIT!" He snarled, causing the two girls to yelp, Kazuto to step back in shock and for the doctor to sigh. "I hope the donor suffered dearly for dooming two young girls and their mother."

"I do too," Kazuto grit his teeth.

"AIDS," the doctor and Sarah both clarified for Asuna.

"The illness that has never been given a true answer for," Sarah added. Her eyes widened as she noticed Marcus' fist was a little red, having torn the skin when he punched the wall.

The doctor noticed too, pulling a roll of bandages from a pocket, handing them to Sarah. The group of five stepped past one door, before entering one next to it.

Marcus let Sarah focus on the bandaging of his hand, and turned to face the glass to his left. "We have to keep the room on the other side thermatically sealed, so this is as close as you'll get," The doctor explained.

"Alright doc. Show us," He sighed, ready for the reveal.

Kurahashi nodded. "Brace yourselves," He muttered, before entering a command into the console in front of him. The room behind the glass lit up, revealing a pencil-thin girl, lying on a recliner bed, above her head, and partially covering it, was a large machine, with a monitor on it. On her arms and around her neck were several cables that reached up above, and several monitors of her vitals were on the screens around her bed.

"No." Marcus almost lost his balance, having to sit down on the bench behind them. "My god..."

Asuna dropped her bag, and Kazuto looked away with sadness. Sarah dropped to her knees, "Goddamnit…" She mumbled, tears falling freely.

Marcus glanced up at a lens that was above the screen on the Medicuboid. "Yuuki… I'm so sorry…" He mumbled.

Kazuto silently comforted Asuna, and Kurahashi pulled Sarah up so she could sit next to Marcus on the bench. All of them were crying.

"Don't cry guys!" The unforgettable spirited voice of Yuuki called. Everyone jumped at her voice, and looked around to find the origin.

Marcus pointed to the screen, and to the camera above it. "I can hear you all, and see you too," Yuuki sounded as bright as ever. "Wow, you all look exactly like your avatars, just different hair colors."

"Yuuki, how… how long have you laid there on that bed?" Kazuto asked.

"Three years," The doctor said behind them.

"My god… that's one more year than us…" Sarah gasped. "She really has earned the name Zekken."

"Yuuki," Marcus said, taking a step forward, looking at the lens directly. "Do you have a bucket list?" He asked. This surprised both his friends, the doctor and Yuuki. "Is there anything you want to do with your life that you haven't already?"

Yuuki seemed to pause, unsure, but eventually, she spoke: "Um…. I know this is a little embarrassing, but I haven't heard a bedtime story since mom died," She said. "Do… do any of you know any good stories?"

It took a moment for the four visitors to recollect themselves, then Sarah smiled. "Marcus may be a writer, but I often came up with a few tales to tell the rugrats back in SAO. How about I tell you the story of 'The Daughter of Darkness'?"

"Whoa… sounds edgy! Consider me hooked!" Yuuki gasped with glee.

Marcus glanced at her, "Sarah… are you sure?" He asked. "That wasn't your proudest time," he added with a whisper.

"It's fine, I don't regret it, remember," Sarah told him, before clearing her throat.

"It all began in a small town called Vardos, I had just teleported down to Floor three from floor seven…"

* * *

 **2022, 14** **th** **December**

 **Floor 3: Vardos**

* * *

Angel opened her eyes as she stepped off the teleport gate, she sighed, this town was so quiet and peaceful, but there was someone in town that liked to cause trouble.

Following the tipoff from an Info broker, she walked through town, before stopping outside a warehouse. "According to the coordinates Argo gave me, this is the place," Angel muttered quietly.

She activated her search skill, glancing down to look at the foot tracks. "Same footprint as the kidnapping in Taft on Floor 11. He's been here alright," She nodded.

Leaping onto the roof, she glanced at the door, and waited. It wasn't long before a man in full Holy Dragon Alliance armor passed by, stopping in front of the door. He unlocked the door with a key, and walked inside.

Angel nodded, and before the HDA guy was able to lock the door, she kicked it open.

"Well, you definitely took your time," Angel smirked, pulling her hood over her head and a mask up over her mouth. "Now, where are all the girls?"

"What the…?! You're that bounty hunter chick aren't ya?" The man asked.

"Maybe," Angel said, "Maybe not."

"Don't mess with me, I need to get this merchandise to my boss," The thug said.

"Who's the boss? Tell me now and I might not knock your teeth in," Angel asked. "Carson."

"How'd you know my name?" Carson narrowed his eyes. "I don't tell anyone."

"I know your name because of this," Angel produced a piece of parchment, and on it was Carson's face and name. Beneath it was the statement: 'WANTED! Petty Crook known for snatching female players!'

"Now, tell me. Where can I find the boss?" Angel asked again.

"H-he only shows up once every other week, but it's always the same deal, he messages his minions, tells them the time and place, he's paranoid like that," Carson finally cracked.

"Now, how about you do me a favor, and I don't get you thrown behind bars. I'm after the big fish, little fish. So, you're going to swim back to papa and I'm going to reel him in," Angel smirked.

* * *

"Ah, Carson! About time you showed up!" A large slob of a man sat on a velvet throne. Around him were several pretty girls in skimpy outfits, serving drinks to the gang members and dancing nervously.

"Sorry boss. I really roped in a looker this time though!" Carson grinned. He was hauling a big sack over his shoulder, which he then deposited on the ground.

"Show me," The boss chuckled. Carson pulled back the bag to reveal Angel, who kicked aside Carson and leapt to her feet.

"Good afternoon gentlemen, I hope you don't mind…" A large spear appeared on her back, before she pulled it out. "But this Slavery operation is _over!_ "

The boss and his lackeys laughed, starting with chuckles, then turning into full-on hysterics. The boss wiped away a tear. "Oh. Oh really? You and what army?" He asked.

"Ten elite members from the frontlines are waiting for my go, all I need to do, is use this Flash crystal," Angel held up a white version of the teleport crystal.

The boss stood up, "Well… I guess you have my attention doll," He smirked. "But before they get here, how about we pass the time with a little duel? I win, I add you to my collection, you win, we'll come quietly."

"Ok, I've wanted to pound you into the dirt for a while now," Angel said.

The boss picked up a massive one-handed axe, "I think I'll make you my favorite," He laughed, sending the invitation for a duel.

Angel glanced down at his name, and rolled her eyes. "Christ, you are a Stereotype, aren't you? Calus?"

"What? I'm a greedy guy? Two things make me pleased. Money, and women," Calus laughed.

The clock above them hit zero, and Angel sped forward, holding her spear in both hands. Calus raised his axe, predicting she'd aim for his gut, so he was extremely surprised when she caught the spear tip on an uneven part of the ground, vaulting over Calus' head, kicking him in the back and making him fall down.

Angel didn't wait for the large man to get up, but Calus was surprisingly quick to self-right himself, and his axe lit up with a skill. Angel quickly analysed the initial movement, and leapt aside as the large weapon came down, clouting him in the face with the blunt end of her spear.

"Give up tubby. I'm faster, smarter and straight-up better than you," Angel said. "Spare your dignity before I break it completely."

"Never! As the leader of Slaver's Ring, I must defeat you for the boys," Calus yelled.

"Then prepare yourself!" Angel said, spinning her spear and then lunging forward, jabbing the blunt end into Calus' crotch.

As the crime lord dropped in pain, Angel turned to the other men, "So, anyone else want to give me a go?" She challenged.

But none of the men could draw their weapons, after all, their leader had just been toppled by three speedy hits. Angel turned around, summoning some rope from her inventory. With swift practice, she had roped up Calus' arms and legs, and put his axe in her inventory.

* * *

 **Present Day**

* * *

"Whoa, you were like a superhero," Yuuki gasped.

"I tried to be, but for a long time, my tactics were dirty and sometimes just downright disgusting," Sarah admitted. "It was after I came across Sasha and the kids that I began fighting for more than a reward."

"Hey, we talked about this. You took out the scum so we wouldn't have to look over our shoulders every ten minutes," Marcus told his girlfriend. "You saved almost a hundred female players that day, and many more players in your later excursions. Klein told me about Jack when he first met you."

"Right, and you saved mine, Asuna's and Godfree's lives when you stopped Kuradeel," Kazuto added.

"We owe you our lives Sarah," Asuna finished, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

Marcus glanced at the time, "Wow, time flies when you're remembering the past," He muttered, it was now six thirty, "Hey, we still have that assignment that was handed out in advanced mathematics Kazuto."

"And I have a biology report to put together for Friday," Sarah remembered.

"Aw… you guys can go to school," Yuuki's voice couldn't hide the pout. "I'd love to be able to go, even just for one day."

Asuna and Marcus both glanced at Kazuto, "There might be a way for you to do that!" He smiled.

* * *

 **Marcus: Goddamnit... Yuuki's story always makes me sad, and I had to watch it several times to get the hospital scene as I wanted it.**

 **Yuuki: Hey, I told you, don't cry.**

 **Kione: My blind story in the Watchman story was sad, but that's almost too much for me.**

 **Emma: Same, sorry for your fate Yuuki.**

 **Sarah: You just wait, the real sob story is still to come, isn't it?**

 **Marcus: Oh yeah... just you girls wait.**

 **All: Next time: Summer Belongs To You!**


	25. Chapter 25: Happiness Belongs to You!

**I feel like this chapter was a little on the short side, but it's kind of a interlude before we reach the closing chapters of this fiction. That is correct everyone, I feel like it's time this tale came to an end, and I promise that I will do my best to give you all a ticket for the train to feelsville.**

 **So for this chapter, just sit back, enjoy the content and the music choices!**

* * *

 **Chapter 25: Happiness Belongs To You!**

 **Title Song: Let's Just Live (Jenny** **Unreachablee)**

* * *

"Ok, how's that?" Kazuto asked.

"Great, it feels just like my lens on the medicuboid," Yuuki's voice spoke. Kazuto had connected the probe he had been constructing for Yui to Yuuki's medicuboid system, so that she could have a window open and see through the remote device that was on Asuna's shoulder.

"Just don't turn it too fast, or it might blur and even stop working for a moment," Kazuto told her, and closed his laptop. "Right, you should be good to go for the day," He nodded.

"Awesome!" Yuuki cheered.

Marcus watched from a bench nearby, Sarah sat next to him. "You know… maybe it's because Yuuki's got that terminal problem, or maybe it's because she's so energetic, but I think that we're gonna have to make the rest of her days the best ones ever," He sighed.

Sarah nodded, "How's your hand?" She asked. Marcus glanced down at the hand that was in a cast. Turns out his venting anger on the wall was not a good idea, as he had fractured his wrist from the sheer force.

"I'll live, you heard the doc, it'll be fine in a couple of months," Marcus shrugged.

"Next time you need to punch something, punch a pillow," Sarah told him.

"Yes ma'am," Marcus saluted. "My hand aside, I already have a few ideas of things we can do that will make us all enjoy each other's company, us and the Sleeping Knights," He said.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Sarah asked.

"Well, there's the annual tournament that's sure to come up soon, so that's something we'll have to train for, because I'm sure Yuuki'll enter. Then I had a few other amusing things planned, like races, scavenger hunts, taking her to see the sights here in the real world, I know Asuna's already taking Yuuki to find her old neighborhood at the weekend," He listed with his good hand.

"Sounds like you've been thinking about this all day," Sarah observed. "I hope this doesn't include during class."

"Maybe a little," Marcus chuckled.

"So, what's the plan tonight then?" the two jumped when Keiko hopped out from the bushes behind them.

"How long were you there?" Sarah asked.

"And are you the only one there?" Added Marcus.

"No, Rika's back there too," Keiko giggled.

"Really guys? You do know that Kazuto will not ditch Asuna to date one of you right?" Marcus pointed out. "Kazuto's not the type of guy to want a harem either, so you two will have to look for other guys."

"And before you even _think_ of asking: No. Marcus is mine!" Sarah gripped Marcus' unharmed arm and gave a glare to the two desperate girls.

"So… you guys done it yet?" Rika changed the subject pretty fast.

"No. And I won't do it until we're both at that comfortable stage," Marcus told her. "Now. Any more perverted questions you want to get off your chest? Or shall I tell Hyde that you're training to beat him in GGO?" He asked.

Rika gulped, "I have no intention of going up against that maniac's barbaric weaponry!" She yelled.

"Then don't ask that question again, ever," Marcus warned. "Now… as for this afternoon, I was thinking we could head down to the south of Sylph Territory," He said.

"What do you want to find there?" Asked Sarah.

"It's not what I'll find, it's what we need," Marcus smirked. "The tropical beach!"

* * *

 **Southern Sylph Territory, Thule Island**

 **2026 January 11th  
**

* * *

South of Swilvane, which was the Sylph capital, was a beautiful area that looked like it was modeled after the Caribbean and Hawaii. Tropical islands dotted the landscape, and there were several spots in this playing field that had log cabins and beach huts.

Ion was lazing in a beach chair, next to him were Kirito and Klein. Ion was wearing an open white shirt and light blue swimming trunks, Kirito was wearing a black pair of trunks and Klein was wearing red, yellow and blue trunks.

Down by the water was Angel, wearing a black and purple two-piece bikini, Asuna, wearing a white and red two-piece bikini, Lizbeth, wearing a black bikini top and brown short shorts and Leafa, wearing a lime green two-piece bikini. The four girls were splashing around, having a competition to see who could soak each other more.

Having a sandcastle competition were Silica, wearing a frilly white two-piece swimsuit with pink lining, Kione, wearing a black and silver two-piece swimsuit, Sinon, wearing a white tank top and green short shorts, Melody, wearing a blue school swimsuit, Yui, wearing a white swimming costume, and Aurora, wearing a blue version. They had paired off into three groups of two, and it was evident that the team of Yui and Sinon were destroying everyone else, having made a sandy sculpture of Aincrad.

Meanwhile, there was a heated game of volleyball happening. Yuuki, Nori and Siune were playing against Tecchi, Jun and Talken. Yuuki was wearing a purple short top and black shorts, Nori was wearing a violet two-piece bikini, Siune was wearing a snow white and blue wetsuit, Tecchi was wearing tan swimming trunks, Jun was wearing a red pair and Talken was wearing a green pair. Off to the side, Agil was providing the role of referee, wearing a pair of black swimming trunks.

"Now, this is something I could get used to," Ion sighed. "Sun, the sea and no chance of getting sunburnt."

"You said it brother," Klein chuckled. "The view is something special as well."

Ion's eyes turned to the salamander, "Keep the perverted mind and eyes away from my sister and girlfriend, and Silica, or do you want me to deliver a Sub-Zero Slammer to the center of your soul?"

"N-no! No! I-I'll be good!" Klein whimpered.

Kirito sighed, "Too bad Wyvern's Inferno couldn't make it."

Ion nodded, "Yeah, but Dan and Clair were helping their mother clear up their house, Alicia and Emi had the same, Hyde, who knows what he's up to and Lilina's similar. Shirou is the only one I have no idea about."

Take this!" Angel laughed, tossing up a huge wave over Liz. The blacksmith covered up, keeping her relatively dry from that attack, however, she was knocked off her feet by the following splash to the face from Leafa.

"Oh, so that's how you want to play?" She asked. She summoned her mace, "Fine! Take this one!" She smashed the club end into the water, causing it to kick up all over Leafa, who yelped and spluttered, before spitting out water that got in her mouth.

"So, we're bringing weapons to the show now, are we?" The sylph chanted a spell, before a whirlwind left her hand, combining with the water and creating a little cyclone, Angel and Liz screamed as the whirling combination of wind and water swallowed them, before tossing them into the air, the two landing in the water again a moment later.

The three glared at each other, before they heard Asuna chanting a spell, "Uh oh… Asuna… Don't do it…!" Angel laughed nervously.

"Y-yeah! No need to sweep away the whole gang!" Liz agreed with the Spriggan.

"Too late! Run!" Leafa yelled, before Asuna summoned a huge geyser of water under them, sending all three out into the deeper waters with a scream of terror.

"Do I win then?" She asked.

"Wow. Look at that sandcastle!" Melody gushed, the three teams had stopped their competition to look at their handiwork.

"I know, it's a spitting image!" Kione muttered. Her eyes then turned to what Aurora and Silica had created, and her eyes widened.

"Like our model of Mt St Michel?" Aurora asked.

"You two suck, you had assistance from two Artificial Intelligences, we had our own memory and creativity," Their model of the black iron palace was still a very close replica.

Without any hesitation, they had agreed that the sandy Aincrad deserved first place.

"Here it comes!" Nori swatted the ball into the air, then she crouched, allowing Yuuki to springboard off her shoulders and spike it down on the boys' side. Jun yelped and dodged, not wanting to try and stop such a lethal combo.

Tecchi, on the other hand, used his gnome strength and was able to stop the ball before it hit the sand. Talken jumped up and spiked it back, but what he hadn't expected was Siune, the usually timid and quiet member of the guild, to aggressively punch the ball, narrowly missing Talken's face and hitting the sand.

"That's game, set and match to the girls!" Agil blew a whistle.

The girls cheered, high-fiving each other while the guys sighed, glad that the game of torture was over, the girls had been giving no mercy, especially Yuuki and Nori with their competitive and fiery attitudes.

Ion pulled out an ocarina, one he kept in his inventory at all times, and, bringing up a window, he put the muzzle to his lips, beginning to play, nailing each note that would appear on the window. Kirito and Klein seemed surprised at first, but then they started listening to the music, falling into peace.

* * *

 **Insert Music: Lugia's Song (Ocarina version) – Pokémon**

* * *

The four girls down by the water were having a little squabble, after Angel, Leafa and Liz returned to the beach, about who won their water fight, but the music stretched down to their ears, and they all seemed to calm down, walking up the beach and sitting down on towels near the guys.

Silica's eyes widened slightly, as did Melody, recognizing the music, Silica then pulled an ocarina of her own out, and began to play as well, walking up to sit next to Ion. Aurora, Yui, Sinon and Kione all sat down under the shade of one of the beach umbrellas, closing their eyes and listening to the music.

The sleeping knights all heard the melody that was gracing their ears as well, and all smiled together, knowing that no matter what happened, they would always be friends for all of eternity, regardless of whatever celestial boundaries that separated them.

The six members all walked over, and joined their friends, all silently listening to the music that was being played for them. Ion and Silica played until the former got a notification on his window, and after nodding to his partner, he shifted the melody into an ending point, slowly coming to an end.

"That was really good, you guys," Nori smiled.

"When did you started bumping up that music playing skill?" Leafa asked.

"About five months ago, I'm now back to a stable point to where I can say I can perform to friends again," Ion smiled.

"Back in SAO, Ion and Silica were favorites to listen to after a big success at a boss raid, the two poor sods often got asked for encores which tired them out most of the time," Klein chuckled.

"I remember that," Angel nodded. "Remember floor fifty? That was so stupid, but I can't forget it, Ion, Silica and that other bard, all three played on all the way to the following morning, Agil had to help me take them up to a room to let them sleep in the whole day," She paused, then turned to the two musicians, "by the way, you never did pay back that hundred and fifty col per room you two."

"We did too!" Ion objected. "Silica paid you back the following day with a meal and I paid for your room."

"Fair enough," Angel shrugged.

* * *

Whenever they weren't at school, Marcus and friends were hanging out with Yuuki, they had races around ALfheim Online, scavenger hunts on specific floors of New Aincrad, exploration sessions, and of course, they slaughtered boss after boss, carving their way up the floating castle.

Marcus was pleased to hear from Asuna that her mother Kyouko had relented, deciding to withdraw Asuna's deadline to move to another school, and the suitors had stopped all together. She had decided to show her mother the wonders of the virtual world, thanks to advice given by Yuuki, Kazuto and Marcus himself.

Yuuki was always happy in school, sometimes going to classes with other members of the massive group.

She joined Marcus for a taster at creative writing, and she surprised the class with how surprisingly detailed her work could be.

She joined Sarah for biology, and when the teacher asked for the students to research case studies in terminal care, Yuuki and Sarah surprised the whole room with Yuuki's case, needless to say, the class were all sad when they finished.

Kazuto obviously took Yuuki and the probe to his mechatronics classes, continually tweaking and tinkering with the remote camera to make sure it gave the best possible visual and audio quality to the operator.

During February, an inter-school kendo tournament was held. Marcus, Asuna, Emi and others were selected from the Kendo club at the SAO school, and they were unsurprised to see Suguha representing her school.

The final match was Marcus and Sugu, and it was one of the best that the instructors had ever seen, the two duellists not giving an inch to their opponent, and employing all the stops, formal and slightly unorthodox. Marcus had powered through his matches after hearing that his Irregular Guarding technique was permitted, and the two ended up mutually defeating each other at the same time.

A few weeks after that, the ALfheim Annual Tournament was announced, and everyone worked their butts off to make sure they were trained for the upcoming event.

The most anticipated fights had been any of Ion, Kirito, Ren, Yuuki, Angel and Alice against any other name out of that group, but there were plenty of other fights that were highly enjoyed.

The final had been Ren vs Yuuki, Ion had been knocked out by Ren while Yuuki beat Kirito, resulting in the two Imps to face off to be crowned ALO's best fighter. After a gruelling fight, Yuuki cut down Ren, and was quickly dogpiled by her guild.

* * *

However… not all happiness can last forever, as on the 29th of March, 2026, the flame of a great spirit began to fade forever…

* * *

 **Angel: ION! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T DO IT AGAIN!**

 **Ion: I'm sorry! I felt it was appropriate!**

 **Melody: I'm siding with Angel here, you promised.**

 **Kione: I heard it too, don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it.**

 **Ion: Ok! I get it! Jeez! I'm not looking forward to what I have to write next chapter though.**

 **Angel: We get it... just make it one to remember.**

 **All: Next time: Mother's Rosario!**


	26. Chapter 26: Mother's Rosario

**Well... here we are, the chapter which I did NOT want to write, but... I had to or the story would never end.**

 **Please put your hands together and pray for Yuuki, who was such an inspirational character, who, even though she had such a crippling disease, she kept soldiering on, undeterred until the very end. Rest in Peace Yuuki 'Zekken' Konno.**

 **No title song this chapter, because only one piece of music was needed for my version, prepare for tears.**

* * *

 **Chapter 26: Mother's Rosario**

* * *

Marcus put a fresh pile of donuts in the shop window, and walked back to where there were several trays of other homemade delights were waiting to be put on the shelves.

Marcus picked up a tray of scones, and took them over to their spot in the store. He was just about to walk back, when his phone bleeped in his pocket. Carefully putting the tray on his left hand, he pulled his phone out of his right, and brought up the latest alerts. One message was from Doctor Kurahashi, Yuuki's Doctor.

His eyes widened as he read the short text. _No…_ he gasped. _She's… fading...?_ His attention was gone from the tray, and he gasped as the empty object fell to the ground with a clatter. Warren and Emma were there a moment later.

"Marcus?" Emma asked.

"Grab your amusphere, get mine out for me too, Yuuki's time is coming to a close," Marcus told her.

"What?!" Emma demanded. Marcus handed her his phone.

"What's this about? Your shift doesn't end for another ten minutes," Warren pointed out.

"If I wait ten minutes, she'll be gone!" Marcus snapped. He then remembered that he was lashing out at his boss and guardian. "Sorry about that," He sighed. "A couple of months ago, my friends and I came across an individual with a fiery spirit that burned away all the darkness. She bonded with our group, and we then found out that she was terminally ill with HIV and AIDS. That fiery spirit, that light in the shadows... it's fading forever."

Warren's eyes widened, "I… I see, I'm sorry, go to your friend, and you can have the rest of the day off," He muttered, realising how important this was.

"Warren… the last time I lost someone like this…" Marcus told him, hanging up his apron. "Come on Emma!"

Warren watched them go, understanding completely, "... Was in SAO..." He finished.

The two siblings rushed up to their room, and snatched up their amuspheres. Lying down on their bed, they closed their eyes.

"Link Start!"

* * *

Ion and Melody shot through the skies of floor 23, heading towards the island where they had first met the inspirational character, Yuuki. As they flew, Ion couldn't help but clench his fists in fear that they might be too late, they were therefore relieved when they saw Kirito and the others there, alongside the sleeping knights and Wyvern's Inferno.

Quickly descending, Ion approached the prone form of Yuuki first, seeing the girl resting in the lap of Asuna. "I-I'm sorry for being late," Ion said, putting a hand on the Imp's own. "But we're here now."

"No. Asuna said you might be working and would need to explain why you were in a hurry," Her voice sounded nothing like it did yesterday, it sounded so weak and frail. "Ion… I want you to have my sword, it's a similar build to your own sword, so I think you'll adapt quickly enough."

Ion was shocked, "You trust it to me?" He asked. "I don't deserve it, I'm not worthy of such a weapon," he admitted.

"You do and are," Yuuki said. "Besides, you have a legendary weapon, my sword is just a normal blade. I trust it to you. It's called Forever Sleep."

Ion's eyes were covered by his blue hair, "Then I accept, with all of my heart," He nodded, taking the narrow blade and equipping it immediately. "And before I leave this world, I promise that I will make sure to hand this sword down to someone special, not only will your spirit live on with Asuna, your valour will follow me."

Angel approached next, "Yuuki, I hope you know that I looked in every single medical case and document I could find, but I couldn't find a cure. I promise that I'll make sure I use our friendship to find a cure for what has to end your life. No one else will die to this, not on my watch."

Yuuki smiled, "I know, the doc told me you were looking for a cure," she said. "But… even if you did have a cure, I'm ok. I'll get to see Mom and Aiko again." These words reduced Angel to tears, and she stepped back to allow Kione and Melody to approach together.

Melody glanced over to the younger siblings in Wyvern's Inferno, Himiko seemed to be trying not to collapse completely and Mai didn't look much better, "Damnit… Yuuki… this is so unfair…" She couldn't say anymore, tears overtaking her words.

"This has to be a joke… right? You're really leaving this world forever?" Kione added.

"Helios said something similar… hey, don't be like this," Yuuki told her. "It's like I told Mai and Himiko, even if I die, I'll be glad to have had a friend like you two. And Kione, keep being strong, no matter what your feelings, and others, say."

"I will, thank you for being such a friend to me," Kione smiled. Melody nodded in agreement, unable to say more.

Aurora and Yui were being very quiet from their respective shoulders, both were continuously monitoring Yuuki's vitals, having slipped into the Medicuboid scanners, but it was clear that the two girls were very unhappy with the scenario before them.

The large group of friends sat together in silence, until Ion felt a shift in the winds, glancing back, his eyes widened considerably when he saw nine different clouds of colour flying above them.

"Whoa…" Angel gasped.

"Look at all those fairies," Yuuki croaked.

Ion's precise vision quickly spotted familiar faces Eugene, Sakuya, Alicia Rue, Ryu, Oceania, Lockster and the other race leaders. Klein spotted the rest of his guild amongst the salamander ranks. Kione noticed the Gnome and the salamander from the clearing group back in January.

"What're they all doing here?" Yuuki asked, as many of the fairies dropped down onto the island, before dropping onto a knee as one.

"Isn't it obvious?" Asuna asked. Ion's arm slowly went to his menu, and he selected a piece of music.

* * *

 **Insert Music: Don't Let Me Leave, Murph by Hans Zimmer**

* * *

"Yuuki… you are the most powerful swordswoman this world has- and will- ever see," Ion told the sleeping knight leader. "There will never be another player quite like you. You are one of a kind."

Yuuki glanced up at him, then she paused, noticing the appearance of music. "Oh… Ion…" She smiled, a tear appearing in the corner of her eye.

"Shhh, when we watched some movies, we watched Interstellar, didn't we? You told us that when you died, that you wanted this to be played at your funeral. Remember?" Ion whispered.

"Yeah… thank you Ion," Yuuki smiled. She looked up at the leaves of the tree above. "You know… all this time I've thought: 'If I was born to die, what the heck was the point of me even being born? I never made anything, or gave anything to anyone. All I did was waste drugs and hog that machine and cause trouble for everyone. If all I get to do is suffer and disappear in the end… then it would be better for me to disappear right now.'

"I used to always think: 'Why am I alive? Why'd I stick around for this long?'" Yuuki took a breath, "But you know what? After all this time, I think I know why now, I might not have done much, but I'm glad I got to live, because after everything in these last few moments, they're the best ever." She took another shaky breath. "I'm surrounded by all my friends, and I got to end my journey… in the arms of someone I love."

A tear dropped on her hand, and Asuna lifted it up to grip tightly. "Yuuki… I promise, I will see you again someday, in some other place, in some other world. I don't know how, but I'll find you. And then we can sit and talk, and you can tell me where you've been," She sniffed.

Ion took her other hand, "I'd love to join you both for that talk. We'll be able to see our families again, go on more adventures together. So… all I can ask, sister… is that you don't have all the fun before we get there…" He broke off, unable to go on, tears streaming down his face.

One of Asuna's teardrops fell on Yuuki's closed eyelid, and as she opened them, Ion noticed they had lost the brightness they had earlier. Her eyes were starting to turn glossy, and he saw that her mouth twitched into a smile.

Then, for a moment, Asuna and Ion could see another girl, with long brown hair and a warm smile on her face. The two undines glanced at her, then each other.

"Thank you both for becoming her family," The girl said. "But now, it's time for my sister to come home. Come on Yuuki. Mom and Dad are waiting to hear about your adventures!" she said to Yuuki, who's smile became warmer. It was at this moment, both Ion and Asuna knew, this was Aiko Konno, Yuuki's twin sister.

Ion then registered the fact that he could no longer see Yuuki's chest rise and fall, and that she had gone silent. He closed his eyes, and let the tears flow. Asuna quickly followed, as did all their friends.

Yuuki 'the Absolute Sword' Konno was dead. A moment later, her body disappeared in a soft glow, a box saying 'disconnected' in her place.

"A moment of silence for Zekken, leader of the Sleeping Knights and the strongest swordswoman in the world," General Eugene spoke out quietly. "May her loving spirit never fade from our hearts."

No one moved for five minutes, but it felt like an eternity, mourning the warrior which had just vanished from the two worlds. Eventually, players began to filter out silently, heading off in groups or by themselves, some logging off after attending such an event.

Ion spotted his, Ren's, Alice's and Angel's sisters all sobbing together, but Mai looked like she was handling it a bit easier.

Ion, Angel and Ren walked over, pulling the smaller girls into a hug each. "Come on Em… Yuuki told you not to cry, besides… she's in a better place now."

"Kione, are you going to be alright?" Angel asked.

"It's not fair!" Himiko sobbed. "Why… why did she have to die?"

"Himiko…" Mai began, but she didn't have words to say, not know what to say in this scenario.

The younger Imp quickly swiped down her finger, logging out in a flash. Melody and Kione also vanished as they logged out on the spot.

"Go to your sisters, I'll see you tomorrow at school," Ion said, before logging out himself.

When Marcus opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that Emma was missing. "Emma…" He sighed. He then knew where the girl had gone, and went downstairs.

"Marcus… Emma…" Warren began. "She just left, clearly distraught."

"I know. I need to find her," He nodded, putting on his shoes and heading for the back door.

* * *

"Here you are," Emma turned at her brother's voice. Her eyes were openly flowing with tears, and she looked broken. She had made her way to the town outskirts, and was sat on a hillside, overlooking her neighbourhood.

"I thought you might be here," Marcus said, coming to sit down next to his sister. "I know what you're going through Emma, talk to me."

"Why!? Why her!? Why did she have to die?!" Emma buried her head in his shoulder. "She didn't deserve it!"

"Emma, that's how life works sometimes. Yuuki died because someone in the medical world didn't pay close attention, I know she didn't deserve this, but it was the hand that god dealt her and she played the game of life extremely well," Marcus sighed.

"How are you so calm about this?" Emma demanded.

"Because… me, Dan, Kazuto… we all had to watch those that we cared about die at one point, Kazuto had the Moonlit Black Cats, Dan, it was his friend Historia, me, I lost someone who was a lot like Yuuki, a cheerful, spirited fighter who refused to give up, and she paid the ultimate price when Laughing Coffin pounced on her party. She was amazing," Marcus told his sister.

"How did you get over it the first time?" Emma asked.

"Time. It's the only medicine for wounds such as these. Time and patience," Marcus said instantly. "It took me a week to get over my friend's death, I heard Kazuto was even worse, going up to Christmas eve before finally steeling himself and moving on."

"I… I'm not sure if I can do that, Yuuki was such an inspiration to me, she taught me to be free as a bird, to never let what others thought keep me down," Emma sighed.

"It's ok, I'll be right by your side," Marcus smiled. "Let me be your shoulder to cry on, just like when mom and dad died."

The two siblings glanced back at a tree behind them. In the bark, there was an artistic carving, showing a woman, a man, and a pair of kids, one boy and one girl.

"She's with them now. And they'll be able to help her in the next life, as will Aiko and Yuuki's parents as well," Marcus said.

The two siblings sat together, well into the evening, "We should probably head back soon, I'm sure Warren and Amy will be worried," Marcus said.

Emma was about to retort, but her stomach beat her to it, causing her to yelp and blush with embarrassment. Marcus laughed, "We'll get something greasy on the way home, how does that sound?" hand in hand, the brother and sister went home.

* * *

Two weeks passed before Yuuki's funeral took place. Several people were there, some being distant family of Yuuki's. Others were some she had met in the SAO school, but most were from the VR community. After some discussion, it had been decided that the date, time and location of Yuuki's funeral known to the entire community of ALO, posted in the forums on MMO Tomorrow.

At one point in the funeral, the priest invited family and friends to step up and pay their tributes, Marcus was one such person.

"When I met Yuuki, back in January, I originally saw her as a player with a mission. But as I fought her, I felt that she was fighting for something more than just a teammate. She was looking for a friend." Marcus said. "When she explained The Sleeping Knights' mission, to clear a boss of New Aincrad with a single party of seven, I saw her as ambitious, but it was after her success, when I found out she had a deeper tale than just wanting her name on a wall.

When I discovered Yuuki's true story, I was struck with the grief, knowing that a fellow player was going to die. But in the months to come, we would spend every day possible, having fun and making sure that she got to see as much as she could, do as much as she could.

Two weeks ago, when Yuuki drew her final breath, I, as well as countless others, paid our respects to Zekken, The 'Absolute Sword' Yuuki. Now, after discussing it with friends of mine, all of us survivors of SAO, we decided that Yuuki should be named an honorary SAO Survivor, having gone through the same sort of suffering as us.

I'd also like to take the time to propose the following: A statue of the Sleeping Knights, following their dream being completed. It shall be erected in Yggdrasil City, The Imp Capital of Komori and Floor One of New Aincrad. Lastly, us close friends of Yuuki decided to put up a gravestone for her on Floor Twenty-Three, on the island where we first met. On it, we have put her name, her guild emblem, and the following words: 'A fighter until the very end'.

Thank you Yuuki for being such a great friend and sister-in-all-but-blood."

He was met with thunderous applause, the SAO survivors and VR Community representatives agreeing thoroughly. After the funeral, people mingled and talked outside. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and their pink petals flew around the sky.

Marcus was sat on a bench, under one such tree, sipping a plastic cup of water from a fountain in the lobby. He looked up at the swirls of pink, _Yuuki… I promise that I will never let people forget your legacy._

A man sat down next to him, "Long time no see Ion," He said.

"Kikuoka, what do you want?" Asked Marcus, wary. This was the man who had asked Kirito to dive into GGO, and Ren into Fire Emblem Online.

"Nothing, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss, and that I too feel sad for Yuuki's passing," Kikuoka said. "I fought alongside her too, or didn't you remember?"

Seijirou Kikuoka was a member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, part of the VR division. He had been the one to allow each of Marcus and his friends to keep their nervegears, and had been the one behind the arrests of Sugou and Death Gun.

However, he also played ALO, under the name of Chrysheight, a fellow Undine mage of Ion and Asuna's. His skill was impressive, having been acknowledged by General Eugene, but Ion was still one of the top mages in the game.

"Your idea to have statues be added to the game in honour of the Sleeping Knights is admirable, but I understand that Siune's illness is in full retreat, and Jun is doing much better himself, possibly being cancer free in a year from now," Kikuoka said.

"I made that suggestion to honour the family chemistry that those guys had, and that their feats be remembered until ALO shuts down, if it ever shuts down," Marcus told the man.

"Fair enough, as for the honorary SAO Survivor thing, that is something I can get behind, she's been through the hardships like you, she's faced loss herself, but also like you, she never gave up," Kikuoka smiled.

"Agreed," Marcus nodded.

* * *

Emma and Kione walked around together, Lex between them. "How've you been handling this?" Emma asked her friend.

"I've been getting there, Sarah was a massive help, and Lex comforted me whenever I needed a snuggle buddy," Kione told her. "And you?"

"Same with Marcus, Clair's been going through the same thing as us, hasn't she?" Emma asked. "I think we should go see how she is."

The girl scanned around the people, until she spotted the brunette sat with a boy with tan hair on a bench. They were talking together, and whatever it was was creating a laugh.

"Come on Lex, bring her this way," The black-haired girl said.

"And I told them that he should have given up before it got ugly, Yuuki had fun that day," The boy was saying. His eyes noticed the girls' approach.

"Hey Clair, how've you handled all this?" Emma asked.

"About as much as you both have, I would guess," Clair smiled sadly. "This is Jun, he's been doing much better with his cancer, and he might be back to normal next year.

Jun, this is Emma, or Melody, and this is Kione, also known as Kione, and that's her dog Lex," Clair introduced both sides to each other.

"Nice to meet you physically, and not online," Emma said, the two girls bowing.

"Likewise to the pair of you," Jun returned the favour. His eyes glazed over Kione's, and they widened slightly. "Kione, are you-?"

"Blind? Yes, I have been for about three years now, it happened while my sister was trapped in SAO," Kione nodded. "Lex here is my guide dog, and she's a real sweetheart."

The four exchanged tales, Jun often turning to his adventures with Yuuki and the rest of their guild, Emma told the group stories of Kione and her adventures in ALO, back when they started the game, and Clair did the same with her first quests and fights.

Emma glanced down at her phone after feeling it buzz in her pocket, "Marcus says we should probably head home, so I'm going to go find him, see you guys, either at school, or online."

With that, the black-haired girl stood up, and headed for the gate, where her brother stood. "Ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah," Emma nodded. The two siblings headed down the road to Marcus' motorcycle, as they did, they could have sworn, they heard Yuuki in their minds.

 _Farewell guys… thank you for being there for me, but now you must soldier on down your own paths. I won't ever forget you._

 _And we won't forget you… I swear it._ Marcus smiled, wiping the droplet from his eye.

* * *

 **Ion: And... that's it.**

 **Angel: Wow, that was a heavy speech.**

 **Ion: I won't let her legacy disappear just like that, I will make sure everyone knows Yuuki's story.**

 **Melody: Ok, ok. What next?**

 **Ion: Just look at the script.**

 **All: Next time: Look to the Future!**


	27. Chapter 27: Look to the Future!

**Chapter 27: Look to the Future!**

"Mika! Put the book down or you'll be late for school!" A young girl with raven-black hair and amethyst purple eyes put down her book, called Mother's Rosario, written by her very own father, and grabbed her bookbag. She was dressed in a white sailor shirt, with a blue neckerchief, a blue pleated school skirt and black tights.

"Coming Mom!" She called, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Ok, that's your lunches dealt with, now, go straight to school, and no shortcuts this time!" Their mother told them. "Remember, we're going to be heading out for dinner this evening, so do remember to be home on time!"

"Alright mom, I'll look out for her," Mika's brother, a boy with blonde hair and ocean blue eyes, called Taro. He was wearing the male version of the uniform, a white shirt under a navy-blue jacket and navy-blue pants.

"Have a good day you two!" Their father told them. "If we're not home first, the key's in the usual place!"

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" Mika smiled, before the two took off out the door.

"No matter how old they are, I always see them as polar opposites to you and Emma," The mother said, turning to her husband.

"Are you busy today?" Marcus Cersy asked, now forty-six years old. "I just need to know who'll be home first."

"Yeah, you know how it goes for me, I'm always busy at the hospital," Sarah told him. "In fact, I should get going or I'll be late for work," She glanced at her watch.

"I'm meeting Hyde today, we're going over the final details of the story for that game together," Marcus had found a profession in story writing, whether it was his own books, film storyboards, or game storyboards. His work often had him meeting with Hyde Gekido, who was a storyboard designer for games.

"I'm honestly shocked at how well Hyde's been doing in a working environment, given his psychopathic ideals he sometimes had back in the old days," Sarah giggled. She walked over to his seat at the table, and pecked him on the lips. "I'll be home around four."

"See ya then," Marcus smiled. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "I'd better get ready too." Ten minutes later, his white motorcycle roared to life, and he took off down the road.

* * *

"… and done!" Marcus sighed, flopping back in his chair.

Hyde sighed himself, just as relieved, "this is going to be such a good decision, thanks for helping me out with this."

"No problem, I'll send it to the dev team and see what they think about it," Marcus smiled. "You ready to see the whole gang again?"

"Everyone but Rika and Shino," Hyde shrugged.

"Oh, come on man, you still spite them after all these years?" Marcus frowned.

"Hey, That blacksmith never made me that dragon slaying axe I wanted, and since then she sounded just like a mother to her toddler," Hyde grumbled. "And Shino, _she_ started that one."

"Just try and restrain the hate train this afternoon, especially in front of our kids," Marcus told him.

"I'll be on my best behaviour, Lilina already made her threat about my manners," Hyde chuckled nervously.

"Good man, I'll see you later," Marcus smiled, getting up from his chair and heading towards the door.

"You got it, see ya," Hyde said, showing his guest out.

* * *

"Hey kids, how was school?" Sarah asked, as Mika and Taro came through the door.

"Normal as always, lessons were dull, except for art," Mika shrugged.

"We're doing algebra in maths at the moment, and I'm finding that a lot of fun, and P.E was dodgeball, believe it or not, against Mika's class," Taro chuckled.

"That was so fun! Me and Taro were the last ones standing for our individual teams, and the teachers had to call it a draw because we almost ran into the next lesson," Mika giggled.

"Well, you two go wash up and get ready, we're headed out at six," Marcus said.

"Ok dad!" Mika said. "Dibs on the bathroom first!" She then called.

"No running in the house!" Sarah reminded their daughter, but she was already off.

"She's got too much of your thrill-seeking habit in her, which worries me," She pointed out to her husband.

"I fail to see how that's my fault," Marcus shrugged, before sipping his coffee, then going back to type on his laptop. "She just needs to cut back on the candy a bit."

"We did stop by the candy shop, against my better judgement, and she bought a bag of strawberry bonbons," Taro sighed.

"She's going to end up bigger than Illfang at this rate," Sarah shook her head in disappointment.

"Illfang? That's one of those really scary monsters you both fought when you were kids right?" Taro asked.

"Yup, the first one in fact," Marcus told his son. "Go on, go wash up, we'll be heading out at five thirty."

* * *

"Well… no matter how many years it's been since we were last here, this place still ropes us back for another visit," Marcus sighed, as Sarah pulled their family car, a black Jeep Wrangler, into the parking lot.

"Does bring back memories though, doesn't it?" Sarah asked. "The last time we all met here was when the last of our group had a child. That was Cho if I remember."

"Come on you two," Marcus said to their kids. Taro had an old Nintendo 'New' 3DS, playing some Fire Emblem game, while Mika was reading her book again.

"Where are we?" Mika asked first. "This place looks rather sketchy dad."

"Nah, your mother and I know a nice little place here, it's where we met with our friends back in the day, and I thought we could pop by for the evening," Marcus ruffled her hair.

Taro folded up his handheld console, putting it in a case before handing it to Sarah, who put it in her bag. The family of four got out of the car, and the parents led the way towards the Dicey Café.

Pushing open the door, causing the bell above it to ring, Marcus was welcomed by the sight of Andrew Gilbert Mills behind the bar, cleaning some glasses.

"Well, I was wondering when you two would come back through my door," He laughed. "And it seems you brought the nippers." He said, noticing Mika and Taro peeking around from behind their parents' backs.

"I see you, come on kids, you both know me, I don't bite," Andrew laughed.

"They aren't shy anymore, just curious," Marcus chuckled. "Either way, it's awesome to see you're still here, glad to see the place still standing."

"Come on man, I won't let this place die just yet," Andrew frowned.

"Glad to see them both healthy," Marcus and Sarah turned at the familiar sound of Kazuto's voice. The black-haired man was sat with his wife, Asuna at a table, between them was a young girl with chestnut hair, like her mother, and 'sat' on her shoulder was the familiar pixie form of Yui, granted, it was a hologram.

"Yui! Strea!" Mika smiled, rushing over to say hello. Taro walked over, more calmly than his sister.

Marcus gripped his oldest companion's hand, "Wow, first here this time, that's new, even for you," He smirked. "Great to see you all as well, how long's it been? Over six months?"

"Something like that," Asuna nodded, greeting Sarah in a hug. "Lovely to see you again!"

The bell above the door rang again, announcing the arrival of another family, Marcus turned, and smiled seeing Dan and Alicia walk in, with two girls, one hiding behind her mother.

"Yo," Andrew greeted them with a wave, "What's up you two?"

"Nothing new to report," Dan chuckled. "I see you haven't managed to go bankrupt with this place yet."

"Very funny," Andrew rolled his eyes. His eyes trailed down to the girl behind Alicia. "Well if it isn't Lilly? I haven't seen you since you were just an infant," He laughed.

Lilly seemed rather nervous at the bartender's towering height, seeing this, Dan knelt down to his daughter. "It's ok Lilly, he may be big, but Andrew's heart is even bigger."

"That's right, I even got the nickname 'The Gentle Giant'," Andrew laughed. "Can I get either of you a drink?" He asked the two kids. He then glanced over to where Mika and Taro were chattering with Yui and Strea. "And you as well for that matter?"

"An orange juice for me please," Mika said.

"I'll have what she has," Taro shrugged.

"Can I have an apple juice please?" the other girl next to Dan asked.

Andrew turned towards the kitchen door, "Samantha? Can you bring out two O's and an A?" He asked.

"You got it dad!" A girl's voice came from behind the door.

Dan glanced over to see Marcus, "Long time," The man in white chuckled.

"It certainly has," Dan smiled, taking his friend's hand.

"I see that Rin is just as happy and cheerful as ever, and Lilly's just as shy as ever," Sarah observed.

"We're making progress, but she's still rocky around those she doesn't see often," Alicia sighed, rubbing the smaller girl on the head.

A teenage girl pushed open the back door, walking out with four glasses on a tray. "Alright, where are these going?" She asked.

"The orange juice is ours!" Mika chirped, so the teen put the two glasses with said juice down on their table. She then came over to hand one apple juice to Rin.

"Thank you!" The girl smiled, echoed by the Cersy siblings.

Samantha then handed the other glass of apple juice to Lilly, "Here, I thought you might like one too."

"Thank you…" Lilly hesitantly took the glass and sipped.

Rin and Lilly walked over to join the three other girls and one boy, they didn't see each other that often, but they were all friends.

Soon, the bell rang again, "Sup people! Time for the stars of the party to arrive!"

"Glad to see that ego of yours will never change Hyde," Sarah sighed, as Hyde, Lilina and a boy with red hair and Hyde's physique. "Hey Lilina, you been keeping him in check?"

"It's been hard, but I think I've done what I can to reign him in," The redhead sighed.

"Hey Naoki! Come and join us!" Taro called over.

"Coming!" The red-haired boy called back. "Mom, can I go play?"

"Of course, you can," His mother nodded.

"Hey Hyde, how's that project you and Marcus were working on?" Asuna asked.

"The storyboards are done, Marc sent it off this afternoon when we finished, I just hope it'll get a good reaction," Hyde smiled.

"Same here, after all, it's a game based on Yuuki's adventures, we need to thank the Sleeping Knights for recollecting their experiences," Marcus agreed. His phone then beeped, and he pulled it from his pocket. "Speaking of, looks like the results are in," He said, reading the message. "No way…" he chuckled.

He handed the phone to Hyde, "Well, I'll be damned, the head dev of the team we sent it to is actually our resident Team Galactic redhead!" The former axe-wielder laughed. "Sora said she's going to give it a go, and she's asked if some of our kids want to play an Alpha when it comes out," he said.

"Well, I know Mika and Taro will, Naoki and Rin probably would too," Sarah chuckled. "But that's great guys, we're all wishing you luck that it'll work out."

Next to come through the door were two families, the first being Shino and Shirou, accompanied by their son, Tetsuya, who was blonde like his dad, but Shirou said that the boy had Shino's eyes. The other newcomers were Rika, her husband, called Yuya, and their daughter called Sakaya, who had light tan hair.

"Tetsuya! Come over here and join team guy!" Naoki called out, putting an arm around Taro. "Come tell Rin she's wrong about this!"

"I'm not wrong!" Rin objected. "Lilly can still have her teddy, Tetsuya and Sakaya will both back me up here."

The two children ran over to join the kids, letting their parents sit down with the other adults. Shino had recently graduated from the police academy and was now a full-time officer. Rika had worked at an antique shop after graduating from college. Now she owned the place, and worked with her husband.

Next to walk through the door was Keiko, walking in with her recently married husband, Ishida, they had gotten hitched two months ago. Keiko worked at an animal shelter, a job which made her very popular with all creatures.

After Keiko's arrival was Suguha, accompanied by none other than Nagata Shinichi, AKA, Recon. Suguha had finally given the boy a chance after Kazuto had proposed to Asuna, and the two had surprisingly hit it off extremely well. Between the two former Sylphs was a long, black-haired girl, with soft red eyes. This was their daughter Erika, who quickly went to go join her cousins and friends.

Emma was next to walk in, accompanying her were Kione, Emi and Clair, the three did have boyfriends, but none could make it to the event. All three had enrolled at the same college, completely by accident, so they kept in touch very often.

Kione did walk in accompanied by a boyfriend, a young man named Shoichi, and a golden retriever called Iris. Lex had died after protecting her from being ran over one time. Kione had grieved for the loss of her faithful canine, but Iris was just as trusty.

"Where's your man then Emi?" Hyde chuckled. "He ditch you already?"

"For your information, I'm still dating him. He just couldn't make it today. And when are you going to finally grow up? You're still the unbearable jackass you were as a kid."

The two glared at each other, but Marcus stepped between them, "Hyde, stop acting like you're Naoki's age, and Emi, you shouldn't rise to his challenges anymore, I thought Emma had told you that."

Ryoutarou was the last to walk in, and he was not alone, having scored himself a soulmate by the name of Sari, the two had married, and had a son called Ronin walking between them. Ronin had short black hair, and wrapped around it was Ryoutarou's old Furinkazan bandana, who had given it to him as a good luck charm.

Kazuto stood up, tapping his glass with a spoon to grab all their attention, "Alright everyone. Since we're all here, how about we get this party started?!" He asked.

Everyone raised their glasses as Kazuto did the same, "Happy Anniversary to clearing SAO! To us!"

"To us!" Everyone echoed with cheer.

* * *

 **A/N: Well Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, with the end of this chapter, we come to the end of another amazing tale.  
I want to first give a massive thank you to everyone who stuck around, waiting for the next chapter to come out. Whether you just joined recently, or you're a regular coming from the beginning of my writing journey, thank you for making it this far.**

 **And now for the honorable mentions:**

 **First and foremost, to TheSib, for the use of the amazing cast of characters called Wyvern's Inferno, as well as their kids, who come from his pieces of work, I Will Not Bow, Blazing Revolutions, Blazing Generations and The Lost Stories, if you haven't read any of these, I recommend you do!**

 **Secondly, to Mataras, who took a back seat this time, but still provided many friendly reviews of encouragement.**

 **Deviljho's Hatred deserves the third shout, because he was the third most frequent reviewer to this story, so thank you to all your comments and encouragement as well.**

 **Other shouts go to iamdman287, Draconix, Prometheus-23, The Celestial Sky Dragon (Who I was extremely shocked to see because I love your Fairy Tail work man!) Mkchief34, GuardianWolfman, Ethan Kironus and, my first reviewer, Sundown17!**

* * *

 **Marcus: Well everyone, it's time we pulled the curtains on this stage one last time.**

 **Emma: Again already huh? Wow, where did the time go?**

 **Sarah: It does fly by when writing, doesn't it?**

 **Kione: Don't forget that you can see more of us four having adventures with the Signers in Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds Battle Force!**

 **Marcus: Ren, good luck to your author in future episodes of his work.**

 **Ren: Thanks man, and good luck to you as well, we Wyvern's can't wait to see what you've got cooking next.**

 **Marcus: Then do not be disappointed, because not only will the YGO 5Ds story continue, but another, currently secret adventure is being pieced together for a brand new adventure, in a completely new world!**

 **Sarah: Technically, you could say we'll be going to two different worlds at once.**

 **Marcus: Don't give away too much! I want the surprise to be** **Prodigious!  
**

 **Emma: Err... Marcus?**

 **Marcus: Right, goodbyes time.**

 **Emma: Oh alright. Well everyone, it's been a long time coming, but see you in our next adventures!**

 **Kione: May your roads lead you to a bright and warm future!**

 **Sarah: Remember to be brave as you progress through your life!**

 **Marcus: And remember that destiny is never set in stone! It's up to you to decide that destiny is that you want it to be!**

 **All: Goodbye!**


End file.
